Ex-mossad Agent Files Suit, Claiming On-air Death Plea

A former Mossad agent sentenced in absentia to 30 years imprisonment for treason and breach of contract is suing a Canadian television network.

Victor Ostrovsky, who authored two lucrative books based on his five years with the Israeli secret service, accused the CTV Television Network of “airing a solicitation for his murder” last year.

CTV executives had no comment on the lawsuit, filed Feb. 7 in the Ontario Court General Division.

The lawsuit stems from an Oct. 15 interview by “Canada AM” host Valerie Pringle with Israeli journalist Yosef Lapid.

Two days earlier, Lapid had written in the Israeli daily Ma’ariv that Ostrovsky, who now lives in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean should not be allowed to live.

Lapid said during the interview that the Mossad would not assassinate Ostrovsky because the action could strain relations between Canada and Israel. But he added that he hoped that “a decent Jew in Canada” would do it instead.

Ostrovsky, who was born in 1948 in Edmonton, Alberta, moved to Israel at the age of 1. He grew up in Holon.

In 1990, with Ottawa journalist Claire Hoy, he released “By Way of Deception.” In the expose, Ostrovsky describes his experience with the Mossad from when he was recruited in 1982 to when he was drummed out for insubordination in 1986. He fled to Canada hat year rather than face a dangerous reserve duty tour in southern Lebanon.

Among Ostrovsky’s allegations is that the Mossad had a stash of more than 1,000 blank stolen Canadian passports.

Three years later, having earned nearly $2 million in royalties, Ostrovsky released a Middle East espionage novel called “The Lion of Judah.”

In a 1993 interview with Toronto’s Jewish Life, Ostrovsky said: “Benedict Arnold was a traitor to the Americans. He was a hero to the British. Every spy is a traitor in potentia. You are working on the edge. You have information that nobody else has.”