One of the Key Jewish defendants in the spy trial told the court today that he had regrets about joining the ring and wanted to dissociate himself from it. Ehud Adiv, the Kibbutz-born paratroop veteran, said he became disenchanted with the spy ring after his second visit to Athens and Damascus where he admittedly was in contact with enemy agents.
Adiv said he was convinced that “their way of thinking and action” was not his way and that he had tried to find ways to leave the ring after his return to Israel. He admitted, however, that he underwent training in the use of firearms and explosives while in Syria but said he did so only as a courtesy to his Syrian hosts. He said that as a combat veteran of the Six-Day War, such training was meaningless for him.
Adiv, 26, was allegedly the No. 2 man in the Haifa-based spy ring and headed its “Jewish section.” His statement in court today was his first public expression of regret since he and five other members of the ring went on trial in a Haifa district court Feb. 25.
Daoud Osman Turki, a Haifa book merchant who headed the Syrian-directed Arab-Jewish spy ring, admitted at the trial yesterday that he was active in organizing a Marxist underground with the express purpose of overthrowing the existing Israeli regime. He also admitted that he visited Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Syria and Lebanon to contact enemy agents. It was Turki who recruited the two principal Jewish members of the spy ring, Dao Vened and Adiv.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
