U.S. Hiker ‘Hid Israeli Father From Iranian Captors’

[Purveyor]

One of two US hikers freed from an Iranian jail where they were held for more than two years on charges of spying and illegal entry, has an Israeli father, Haaretz newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Josh Fattal, who was released on Wednesday with fellow US hiker Shane Bauer, managed to hide from his Iranian captors the fact that his father was an Iraqi-born Jew who emigrated to Israel in 1951, the Israeli newspaper said.

It said that Fattal's father Jacob, who has lived in the United States since completing his military service, declined to give any interviews after his son was arrested in July 2009, in a bid to hide his nationality.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/27/u-s-hiker-hid-israeli-father-from-iranian-captors/

[KansDem]

1. Has there been any explanation as to why they were hiking around the Iraq/Iran border?

I haven't read any accounts of how they would up there.

Is this a particularly beautiful part of that region? Are the hiking trails of a good quality there?

It seems to me hiking around a trouble-spot like the Iraq/Iran border verges on the foolhardy...

[ljm2002]

6. According to an article at sfgate.com...

...Bauer is a freelance journalist who has travelled to other trouble spots (like Darfur) and reported on them. His articles have appeared in the S.F. Chronicle, for one. So he was living in Syria with his girlfriend Sarah Shroud, who taught English there, and he decided to visit the Kurdish region of Iraq, which is one of the most if not the most peaceful area of Iraq right now, in order to do some reporting. Shourd went with him, and Fattal joined them -- he is an environmentalist who was living in Damascus at the time.

So the locals told them of a good place to go hiking, with a pretty waterfall, and off they went.

Most of the stories until recently left the impression that the three of them just up and left the U.S. to go hiking in Iraq. Apparently, that is not the case at all. And of course, now that it comes out that Fattal's father was an Israeli who was born in Iraq, the whole thing seems more plausible.

Interesting how many people think they simply should not have been there. I, too, fell into that trap (sigh). Yet when you think about it: why should we accept that soldiers and diplomats and contractors and oil companies can be there, but God forbid any private citizens or independent journalists should set foot there? How dare they!

Disclaimer: I of course do not know the real story anymore than you do, all I know is what I read in the papers. Yes I am aware that the above could just be a nice cover story. But I now don't think so, especially since learning more about their backgrounds and studies, and their public statements.

The most recent article is at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/09/26/bloomberg_articlesLS4WEN6S972L.DTL

It gives some more details. It is very distressing, however, to read the comments, many of which are venomous attacks directed at the three freed Americans, based on their having been there at all.

[Pirate Smile]

2. Well, that helps explain why they were hiking in Iraq because I never understood that before.

The fact that his Dad is from Iraq helps it not seem so bizarre.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Why spend so much time and money to put yourself in a situation that dangerous?

Just to admire the scrub brush and rocks? Really? Spend several thousand dollars, at least, to get to the other side of the planet and then make your way to a fairly remote part of Iraq just to then hike around.

In watching the statement from the hikers, one of the hikers (it was one of the gentlemen) made it clear they really didn't know where they were or if they crossed into Iran- which he admits was a possibility. He indicated the worst they thought would happen was having to pay a fine and be deported.

I think there are always going to be some pieces missing from their story. I'm definitely not asserting they are spies- but their reasoning still seems to have holes. I think it was absolutely unsurprising that the Iranians captured them and held them captive, but I also don't think the Iranians are justified in keeping them this long. Six months imprisonment given the politics? Wouldn't be surprising.

But two years? Holding them for two years makes as much sense as hiking along the Iran/Iraq border in the first place.

After all, remember the US busted a major Russian sleeper spy ring. We had their asses tried, convicted and kicked out of the country within a few weeks as I recall. And those were real, legit, sleeper spies.

PB

[ljm2002]

7. The three of them were living in Syria...

...working in their respective professions, before they decided to visit the Kurdish region of Iraq, which is by the way a relatively peaceful region. While there, the locals told them about a nice area to hike in, with a pretty waterfall.

They most certainly did not just pick up stakes from the U.S. and spend several thousand dollars to travel to Iraq and go hiking. Our media has been sorely deficient in putting the whole story out there, leaving the impression that these were three young people who just all of a sudden decided to go hiking in Iraq. Not so.

[tblue37]

10. Americans often assume the world is a huge, exotic Disney theme park and that their

very Americanness is like a magic shield that means they are safe from any catastrophic outcome if they get into trouble abroad. This is especailly true of many young Americans.

My own kids--unusually intelligent adults who love to travel--have sometimes found themselves in risky situationsin other countries just because they do not really believe anything terrible can happen to them in faraway places. They mock my fears as timidity, but as bright as they are (and they are both well-educated professionals as well as experienced travelers), they are kinda dumb about such things.

[Hoosier Daddy]

4. Can you blame him???

Sheesh!

[LuckyLib]

5. You might be surprised. With a surname like "Fattal" the Iranians would have

wondered where in the middle east his family was from, and to what extent they were still in the area. I suspect they knew. Unless Iran is such a disorganized mess (like Iraq it was once a populace that was highly educated) that no organization exists to find out such information.

[COLGATE4]

8. I'm curious as to where the $500,000 (each) bail money came from?

[tblue37]

11. From the article:

"Shourd, 33, was released last year on $500,000 bail, after the Gulf state of Oman agreed to pay the sum. Oman also paid bail of $400,000 each for Fattal and Bauer."

[Behind the Aegis]

9. That was smart.

Of course, now we all know they really were agents of Mossad because some Jew was also a possible Israeli!!! :eyes:

[SharonAnn]

12. Same as Daniel Pearl's parents. Mother was an Iraqi Jew who emigrated to Israel.

Not sure about father. Daniel's sisters, Michelle and Tammy were the front face of the family.

They thought he was still a hostage for a long time, not realizing that he'd already been killed, and they were trying to protect him.

Daniel Pearl was in Pakistan because he was a writer with the Wall Street Journal who was specializing in Middle East issues. And he wanted to help bridge the gaps between cultures and help people understand other nationalities.

[formercia]

13. "U.S. Hiker ‘Hid Israeli Father From Iranian Captors’"

Where, under the cot in his prison cell? This adds a whole new dimension to the story. :rofl: