Mossad head apologizes: "Shas was not used as an example to offend, but rather the opposite""

July 6, 2014   

תמיר פרדו מתנצל: במהלך חוג בית שנערך ביום חמישי האחרון ברמת השרון, בהשתתפות כ-30 אנשי עסקים בכירים, התייחס ראש המוסד לסוגיות מדיניות־ביטחוניות. בפגישה קבע פרדו שהאיום המרכזי על ישראל הוא הסכסוך עם הפלסטינים. כשכמה מהנוכחים ביקשו לדעת אם שמעו היטב, חזר פרדו ואמר: "כן, האיום הגדול הוא הנושא הפלסטיני". "מה עם הגרעין האיראני?", שאל אחד המשתתפים, "זה האיום השני בחשיבותו?" תשובתו של פרדו, לפי 'הארץ', הפתיעה את הנוכחים: הוא ציין כי איראן עשוי בעתיד לייצר נשק גרעיני או לנסות ולרכוש פצצה גרעינית, "אבל לא הייתי ממליץ לכם למהר לרוץ ולקנות דרכון זר". The Prime Minister's Office was quick to respond: "The head of the Mossad reviewed the three security problems facing Israel: the Iranian nuclear race, the Palestinian conflict, and the global jihad. On the Iranian nuclear issue, the head of the Mossad said that Israel must do everything to prevent Iran from acquiring the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons.".

Whatever the reaction, there is no doubt that those attending the event had the feeling that Pardo did not see eye to eye with Netanyahu.

But from attacking Netanyahu, Pardo moved on to attacking... the Shas party.

This was when the head of the Mossad later listed among the threats facing Israel today the takeover of parts of Iraq by the Islamic State (formerly ISIS) and the danger to the stability of King Abdullah's regime in Jordan. "This is a very disturbing threat for Israel and they are coming to stay. They embrace the audience like Shas, they have an education and welfare system," he explained.

While the official Shas refrained from commenting on his remarks, MK Eli Yishai demanded clarification and spoke with him.

Following his address, Fredo sent him the following letter, through his office:

""Hi Eli, this is the response from the head of the Mossad after you spoke today: Shas was cited as an example of a social movement that works to instill its values ​​among a broad public. The Shas example was not cited to harm, but rather the opposite.

"The head of the Mossad expresses his regret if he was misunderstood, apologizes for this, and emphasizes that he is working to integrate the Haredi sector into the Mossad and absorb it into the workforce.".

On the sidelines, I wonder what the head of the Mossad thinks about Shas: Is he wondering why the appeal did not come from the party's chairman, Aryeh Deri? And perhaps he is not informed about the male changes in the movement?