A Jewish officer in the Australian army argued he should keep his security clearance despite admitting he would share classified information with Israel if requested.
The officer last week lost his appeal to a tribunal over the stripping of his security clearance as a result of the Australia Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) determining he was more loyal to Israel than Australia and vulnerable to exploitation by Mossad.
The tribunal found that the officer, anonymised as HWMW by the tribunal, joined Jewish security organisation Community Security Group (CSG), trained with them in Israel, and failed to “tell the whole truth” about the purpose of his trips.
HWMW, an Australian citizen and orthodox Jew, also admitted the courses were used as a recruitment pool for the Israeli government and Mossad, and told ASIO that he did not share its view that Israel was a foreign government.
In an interview with ASIO he openly stated he would provide classified or sensitive information to Israel if asked, and although he later claimed he had not made such an admission, the tribunal found the transcripts provided were accurate.
But the 19-year veteran of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) argued in a written statement that the ADF should accept that Jews would be loyal to Israel and that not doing so could be discriminatory.
“The ADF is an organisation that embraces multiculturalism and the acceptance of all peoples regardless of their race, religion, or sex,” HWMW wrote.
“Allowing Jews to serve within the ADF must come with an understanding that the Jew will have a level of loyalty for the Jewish Nation and for State of Israel. Just as are [sic] ethnic groups remain loyal to their county or [sic] origin or their heritage.
“The Australian Government must appreciate the implications of allowing Jews to serve within the ADF and the associated inherent risk.
“If the implication of this risk dictate the preference for the ADF to avoid observant Jews who harbour loyalty to the Jewish Nation, then this undermines the broader multiculturalism of the ADF workforce. It would then be argued that this policy may be discriminatory to the Jewish People.”
HWMW also wrote that revoking his security clearance would be viewed negatively by the global Jewish community and call the ADF’s commitment to multiculturalism into question.
“Zionism is an essential theme within Judaism. Judaism mandates the loyalty of a Jew to his people and to the Land of Israel,” he wrote, and complained that “events have now turned on me” despite choosing to serve in the ADF over the IDF.
“The Australian Government is aware that every Jew harbours a varying degree of loyalty to Israel. Some have a higher and more overt levels of loyalty than others. This is the latent risk that the Australian Government must naturally accept when employing Jews.
“The revocation of my Security Clearance and subsequent removal of myself from the ADF, notwithstanding 19 years of service, on the grounds that I harbour loyalty to Israel, would be viewed within the Jewish World with apprehension. This further puts into question the standard of multiculturalism tolerated within the ADF.”
But the tribunal found that ASIO’s Adverse Security Assessment was correct and correctly represented, and that revoking his security clearance was not discriminatory.
“ASIO’s opinion that the Applicant has demonstrated a higher level of loyalty to Israel than to the Australian Government is justified as the Applicant has, in our assessment, demonstrated loyalty to Israel which is incompatible with his obligations as a security clearance holder,” the tribunal found.
“The Applicant’s assertion that precluding him from holding a security clearance on the grounds of his Jewish faith and Jewish cultural identity would be discriminatory is incorrect. It is the Applicant’s past conduct which has raised security concerns in this case, not his Jewish faith or Jewish cultural identity.”
“We make no finding the Applicant has been or is disloyal to the Australian Government, rather he has divided loyalties between his obligations as a security clearance holder and his faith and Jewish cultural identity.”
HWMW had top secret negative vetting 2 access from 2010 until it was revoked in 2023.
