Israel accuses college prof. of spying
By DAVID HAMMER, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 26, 6:31 PM ET
An Ohio college professor has been accused by Israel of spying for Hezbollah and Iran, his lawyer and Israeli government officials in the United States said Wednesday.
Ghazi Falah, a geography professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, has not been charged with a crime but remains in an Israeli jail.
He was arrested July 8 in northern Israel, but Israeli officials and Falah's lawyer, Husein abu-Husein, were prohibited by an Israeli court from saying why.
"He was taking pictures of Israeli installations along the northern border," said Nancy Goldfarb, spokeswoman for the Israeli Consulate General in Philadelphia. "He was arrested on suspicion that his pictures were taken for intelligence purposes. Currently, he is still under investigation and I don't know whether he will be indicted."
Falah's lawyer in Israel, Husein abu-Husein, said Wednesday that Falah was taking photographs, but said they were for academic research. Falah is known in academic circles for his writings on the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state.
One of the photographs he took included a military antenna, Husein said, but Falah denies spying for Hezbollah and Iran.
"As a specialist in geography, he was documenting and taking pictures in the north area in Israel, just as he had in the south of Lebanon when he went there last June," Husein said in a telephone interview from Israel.
Falah's joint Israeli-Canadian citizenship allows him to travel easily in the Arab and Islamic world. He was in the Iranian capital of Tehran three years ago as a part of an academic trip, Husein said.
Israeli authorities alleged Falah was sent by Hezbollah and Iran to report where rockets have landed in Israel, Husein said. He called the allegation "rubbish" because the July 8 arrest came four days before the current conflict began between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
An Israeli court extended Falah's detention through Sunday and an appeal was scheduled for Thursday in Haifa. The court lifted a gag order on the case Wednesday.