You are here

Home » Blogs » andie531's blog

Jewish hiker traveled to Israel before crossing into Iran

published by andie531 on Thu, 2012-07-12 20:43

By now, the whole world knows the name and face of Joshua Fattal, the 29-year-old Elkins Park native who spent 26 months in an Iranian prison before being reunited with his family last week in Oman and arriving back on U.S. soil on Sunday.

Josh's father, Jacob Fattal, was born in Iraq and moved to Israel before ultimately settling in the United States. Josh Fattal became a Bar Mitzvah at Rodeph Shalom's suburban campus.

He traveled to Israel several times, the last time just before meeting up with his friends in Syria and going on to Iraqi Kurdistan, where they crossed the border to Iran and were arrested.

Fattal, Shane Bauer and a third individual hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan, Sarah Shourd, were arrested in July 2009 by Iranian guards, after apparently inadvertently straying into Iranian territory. It is still far from clear exactly what transpired that day, whether the threesome had actually entered Iranian territory, whether they had been coaxed over by border guards or some other scenario. The three were charged with spying for the United States and sent to Iran's notorious Evin prison.

Shourd, who was engaged to Bauer in prison, became ill and was released last year on $500,000, given by an anonymous party. Last month, the two remaining hikers were convicted and sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence...(commuted and released on $1 million bail - ed.)

"We applaud the Iranian authorities for finally making the right decision regarding our case. But we want to be clear that they do not deserve undue credit for ending what they had no right and no justification to start in the first place," said Fattal.

While being Jewish was part of who Fattal is, he thinks of himself as a citizen of the world, said Fattal's longtime friend Joe Boxman, noting that his friend was an environmental activist who had traveled around the globe to countries such as India, South Africa, New Zealand, China and the Philippines.

http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/24422/The_Untold_Story_of_Josh_F...

9-26-2011

Tags: 
OCCUPIED PALESTINE
UNITED STATES
IRAN
ANTI SEMITISM
ESPIONAGE
INTEL AGENCIES

Comments

Submitted by Heydrich on Fri, 2012-07-13 00:52.

Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but Kurds have always had a special affection for Jews.  Indeed, the autonomous region of northern Iraq (a.k.a. “Iraqi Kurdistan”) crawls with Israelis and Jewish spies. (So does Azerbaijan.)

So check this out: Four Jews from four entirely different parts of the USA decide to meet, travel halfway around the world, and take a "vacation" in the city of Sulaymaniyah, 20 miles from the Iranian border. One of the Jews, Shane Bauer, speaks Arabic. Three of the Jews take a taxi to the Iranian border, and then hitch-hike into Iran. However they are caught before they can take pictures and gather information. A fourth Jew, Shon Meckfessel, stays behind at the Hotel Miwan in Sulaymaniyah because of a cold, intending to join the other three the following day.

And these were not Jewish spies?? It’s obvious to the point of comedy. Iran grabbed the Jews in order to send a message to all Jews, and especially to Israelis: “Stop infesting northern Iraq, and infiltrating our border.”

Iran kept the Jews for over a year, releasing Sarah Shourd on "humanitarian grounds,” and later releasing the other two. The Israeli government had to pay $US 465,000 for each of them.

Iran had made its point.

The three Jews claimed they were innocent, because they have often attended speeches and campus events that call for “Palestinian solidarity.”

Yeah? So what? Most people who go to those events are punks who find it fashionable to chant “Free Palestine.” They supported the destruction of Libya, plus the current campaign against Syria. They despise Iran. If you don’t believe me, then obviously you have never been to such an event. It’s hideous. If you are not Palestinian, and you make any suggestion, then Palestinians will tell you to shut up “We will solve this in our own way.” 

The three Jews arrested by Iran, they support this. In return, the "pro-Palestinian" people love the Jews.

So that makes the three spies "innocent," huh? Yeah right.

Submitted by andie531 on Fri, 2012-07-13 04:43.

"Four Jews from four entirely different parts of the USA"

As far as I'm aware, the three that were captured went to UC Berkeley,

They also admitted to hiking at night (at 4:10 in this video):

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fiulf3g9wjM&t=3m50s]

which fits in with this account:

A tea-house owner in Iraq's Ahmad Awa told Press TV that the Americans had stopped at his place for tea on the eve of Friday, July 31 - the that the three were arrested by Iranian security guards in Western city of Marivan.

"They arrived at 10:30 pm," the tea-house owner told Press TV, adding that “the men did not talk but the woman, speaking Syrian Arabic, asked for tea.“

"The woman was not wearing Hijab and was fair-skinned, she said that she spoke Egyptian Arabic as well," he said.

"I asked them to sit down, but the woman said they were in a hurry," added the owner. "She said she was from Mahabad and that they wanted to go to Iran. I showed them the way to Iran and they left.” The city of Mahabad, Iran is proximate to where the hikers were arrested.

Submitted by Heydrich on Fri, 2012-07-13 08:57.

“As far as I'm aware, the three that were captured went to UC Berkeley.”

 

Only Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal attended Berkeley together.

 

And like I said, all four Jews came from different areas.

Shon Meckfessel is from Sacramento CA.

Shane Bauer is from Onamia, MN.

Joshua Fattal is from Elkins Park, PA.

Sarah Shourd is from Los Angeles CA.

 

To me their claims are absurd. 

>>A tea-house owner in Iraq's Ahmad Awa told Press TV that the three were arrested by Iranian security guards in Western city of Marivan.

 

Marivan [Iran] is right on the border, 20 miles directly east of  Sulaymaniyah Iraq where the Jews staged their mission in a hotel.

 

>>The woman said they were in a hurry. She said she was from Mahabad and that they wanted to go to Iran.

 

WTF? Mahabad is another 18 miles further into Iran from Marivan.

 

The Jews arrived in northeast Iraq and directly penetrated Iran, but claimed that they were “hiking” and “got lost”?

Hiking? At night? In the Iraqi desert?

 

Do you believe their claims? I don't.

Your original post says Josh Fattal visited Israel. Yeah? And? What's your point?

Submitted by andie531 on Fri, 2012-07-13 22:05.

"Only Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal attended Berkeley together."

Pacific News Service Executive Director Sandy Close...said Bauer told her he planned to go backpacking with Shourd in a popular tourist area known for its scenery, where the pair met up with Fattal. All three were graduates of the University of California, Berkeley. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009594582_apirandet...

"Your original post says Josh Fattal visited Israel. Yeah? And? What's your point?"

Yes - visited there just before he took off on this excursion - I think you can figure out what my point is.

Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer