Colin Mitchell

The 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand may have interrupted an Israeli intelligence operation. On February 22nd, 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch. The city center was severely damaged, and more than 180 people died. Among the dead was Israeli Ofer Benyamin Mizrahi, crushed by a collapsing column while sitting in a parked van on Gloucester Street. His body was trapped inside the vehicle and could not immediately be recovered. Three other Israelis, all ostensibly backpackers on vacation, were able to extricate themselves from the destroyed vehicle. Within 12 hours they were on a flight out of New Zealand, with the assistance of officials from their embassy. Meanwhile, a rescue team was dispatched from Israel to assist with recovery efforts. But the team was not accredited and NZ authorities refused to allow them to participate in recovery efforts. Undaunted, the team was later discovered working in the city center and were confronted by armed NZ police officers before they were forcibly removed from the area. Another team of Israeli forensic analysts were initially welcomed to assist with casualty identification. But concerns quickly arose due to their access to government databases, and that access was soon removed to prevent the insertion of spyware or the altering of data, according to reporting by Stuff.co.nz. Days later, when Mizrahi’s remains were recovered, investigators found five passports in his belongings. NZ authorities began to focus on the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of Mizrahi, leading to tense diplomatic discussions between the two governments. The next day, Prime Minister John Key later stated investigators found no evidence linking Mizrahi to Israeli intelligence. In March 2004, two Israelis suspected to be Mossad agents were arrested attempting to secure false New Zealand passports, leading the NZ government to enact diplomatic sanctions against Israel. Since then, neither government has been forthcoming about the incident, but questions remain as to what Mizrahi and his companions were doing in Christchurch when the disaster struck. #earthquake #christchurch #mossad #israeli #newzealand