DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— Michael Bodenheimer is a spiritual man, who left his home in the United States to become an ultra-orthodox rabbi in a village outside of Tel Aviv, in Israel.
However, he has since become embroiled in an international conspiracy after his name was linked to an alleged Mossad plot to assassinate a key Hamas figure in Dubai.
“We’re not very excited that my husband’s name has been used in this way, but it doesn’t make any difference now,” his wife told the Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
It started more than five months ago, when an Israeli man allegedly applied for a German passport using his name.
That passport was then allegedly used by what was said to have been a Mossad agent, in the assassination of a key Hamas leader.
Michael Bodenheimer’s name was listed by Dubai police as a key suspect in the murder, but the passport picture released to the media was of a different man.
“I have never asked for a German passport. I have never had one,” he told Maariv newspaper at the time.
Elsewhere in the world, it began to emerge that Bodenheimer was not the only one who had been erroneously linked to the murder.
Innocent people in Ireland, Australia, France, and the U.K. were among those who claimed that their identities had been stolen and used by what investigators believe were Mossad agents.
The fallout prompted an international investigation by members of Interpol, which led to the expulsion of Israeli diplomats in the U.K. and Australia.
Last week, the investigation yielded its first arrest.
Following what was said to have been an extensive probe by German police, an Israeli man who was using the name Uri Brodsky was arrested at Warsaw airport by Polish authorities.
Germany is now seeking the man’s extradition. He is accused of using “false information” to apply for a German passport. Poland has not yet made a decision on the extradition request, which is reportedly opposed by Israel.
“There is a suspicion that [Brodsky] was involved in intelligence activity and that the procurement of the passport was linked to that,” a spokesman for German police said.
Mahmoud al Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official, was killed in his hotel room in Dubai on Jan. 19. The murder was discovered the next day, but by that time, the alleged killers had already fled the country.
By painstakingly wading through hours of CCTV footage, police in the emirate managed to track the movements of up to 30 individuals involved either directly or indirectly in the murder.
After an intense four-hour meeting with the emir, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, police chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim called a press conference to place the blame firmly on the shoulders of the Israeli secret service, Mossad.
Speaking on Sunday, Tamim told local media that the emirate would not seek the extradition of Brodsky unless there was evidence the man had committed a crime on Dubai soil.
“This person has committed the crime in Germany, and therefore it is only normal that he will be prosecuted there. For us what is important that he will receive his punishment, irrespective of in which country,” he told The National newspaper.
“The fact that German investigators could develop their own investigations is a clear indication of the strength of the information provided by us and that the pictures and other data collected are accurate,” he added.
“The cooperation of the different Interpol members is leading the development of [the] investigations. We will continue to cooperate with the different concerned authorities in the case,” he said.
However, he has since become embroiled in an international conspiracy after his name was linked to an alleged Mossad plot to assassinate a key Hamas figure in Dubai.
“We’re not very excited that my husband’s name has been used in this way, but it doesn’t make any difference now,” his wife told the Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
It started more than five months ago, when an Israeli man allegedly applied for a German passport using his name.
That passport was then allegedly used by what was said to have been a Mossad agent, in the assassination of a key Hamas leader.
Michael Bodenheimer’s name was listed by Dubai police as a key suspect in the murder, but the passport picture released to the media was of a different man.
“I have never asked for a German passport. I have never had one,” he told Maariv newspaper at the time.
Elsewhere in the world, it began to emerge that Bodenheimer was not the only one who had been erroneously linked to the murder.
Innocent people in Ireland, Australia, France, and the U.K. were among those who claimed that their identities had been stolen and used by what investigators believe were Mossad agents.
The fallout prompted an international investigation by members of Interpol, which led to the expulsion of Israeli diplomats in the U.K. and Australia.
Last week, the investigation yielded its first arrest.
Following what was said to have been an extensive probe by German police, an Israeli man who was using the name Uri Brodsky was arrested at Warsaw airport by Polish authorities.
Germany is now seeking the man’s extradition. He is accused of using “false information” to apply for a German passport. Poland has not yet made a decision on the extradition request, which is reportedly opposed by Israel.
“There is a suspicion that [Brodsky] was involved in intelligence activity and that the procurement of the passport was linked to that,” a spokesman for German police said.
Mahmoud al Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official, was killed in his hotel room in Dubai on Jan. 19. The murder was discovered the next day, but by that time, the alleged killers had already fled the country.
By painstakingly wading through hours of CCTV footage, police in the emirate managed to track the movements of up to 30 individuals involved either directly or indirectly in the murder.
After an intense four-hour meeting with the emir, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, police chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim called a press conference to place the blame firmly on the shoulders of the Israeli secret service, Mossad.
Speaking on Sunday, Tamim told local media that the emirate would not seek the extradition of Brodsky unless there was evidence the man had committed a crime on Dubai soil.
“This person has committed the crime in Germany, and therefore it is only normal that he will be prosecuted there. For us what is important that he will receive his punishment, irrespective of in which country,” he told The National newspaper.
“The fact that German investigators could develop their own investigations is a clear indication of the strength of the information provided by us and that the pictures and other data collected are accurate,” he added.
“The cooperation of the different Interpol members is leading the development of [the] investigations. We will continue to cooperate with the different concerned authorities in the case,” he said.
