Martin McGuinness & Mossad Agent Zwy Herbert Aldouby

Excerpts from the 1972 American film about the Provisional IRA entitled “The Secret Army” were broadcast in September 2019 by the BBC Spotlight programme and showed Martin McGuinness and other unmasked IRA Volunteers engaging in a car bombing (and other paramilitary activities) in Derry/Londonderry.

The Big Story of the Spotlight program was that Martin McGuinness was filmed handling guns and involved in preparing and executing one of his many IRA bombings.

One riddle of the story was why McGuinness and other IRA persons identified in the film were never prosecuted for the terrorist acts recorded on the film after it was twice broadcast in the United States in full view of the British Embassy and, if it mattered, the Irish Embassy.

But actually, The Much Bigger Story – as covered to a degree by Ed Moloney in October 2019 – was that the film’s Director and Co-Author was an undercover Israeli Mossad agent known variously as Zwy/Zvi Herbert Aldouby (not his birth name) or just Zwy/Zvi Aldouby who had been working in the United States for a number of years as a journalist and author.

Zwy’s real name was Zwy/Zvi Herbert Dubinsky.

He also used the name Herbert Minsky.

Zwy’s time in the Israeli army and commando force was followed by his joining Shin-Beth/Shin-Bet – the Israeli domestic intelligence agency.

It was when Zwy later joined the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” that he was required to change his name.

Zwy then joined Mossad – Israel’s foreign intelligence agency – and entered the United States along with his wife ostensibly to study journalism at Columbia University and to establish himself as a radical reporter.

In May 1960, while the world was still reacting to Mossad agents’ capture and “rendition” of Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina to Israel to face a controversial Israeli trial, Zwy got his name on one of the fastest books ever written on the heels of the Mossad operation – a book about Adolf Eichmann published in September 1960 only 16 weeks after Eichmann’s rendition.

Reynolds‘ book is based on the research done by Israeli journalists Ephraim Katz and Zwy Aldouby.

They are listed as co-authors, although the preface indicates single authorship based upon materials provided by Aldouby and Katz.

Reynolds, Minister of Death: The Adolf Eichmann Story

https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/4436

Just before the Eichmann book’s publication, Zwy began to write for the then nationally popular “Look” magazine.

In the space of a few months, Mossad agent Zwy had successfully established both his journalistic and authorial credentials in the United States on the back of a single Mossad rendition story.

Barely a year later, in 1961, Zwy was involved in a group planning to kidnap a Belgian Nazi war criminal, Léon Degrelle, from his home in Spain – then ruled by fascist dictator Franco – presumably for “rendition” to Israel where he would also have been tried for his crimes.

Zwy’s earlier name change to ‘Aldouby’ gave the impression of a North African Arab or Algerian background – and since Zwy was fluent in Arabic, he could easily carry off this Arab impression.

In fact, in preparation for the Spanish rendition attempt, Zwy had been introduced to French persons as an American of Arab origin who worked for “Look” magazine and who was interested in freeing a “Moroccan” political prisoner and did anyone know of an available yacht that might be hired?

The translation into English:

Barbara Aigon, who presents herself as a committed Third Worldist pursuing the same fight as Lumumba’s collaborator, and who works for the company Eurafor-Presse, signed a contract, at the end of March 1961, with Andrée Blouin for the edition of his book. She introduces him to Zwy Aldouby, a journalist working for Look magazine, who will be responsible, with a Stem collaborator, for collecting his testimony and his documents, then formatting them.

Having become familiar with Andrée Blouin and Colonel Guisan, Zwy was introduced to François Genoud as Herbert Aldouby, a young American of Arab origin, an enthusiastic supporter of the cause of independence for oppressed peoples.

At the same time, Guisan spoke to François Genoud about the plan to release a Moroccan political leader under house arrest in Spain and asked for his help to find a yacht in the Mediterranean that could be used for this purpose.

https://studylib.es/doc/8946859/pierre-pean—l-extremiste

The plan to kidnap Degrelle proceeded.

Unfortunately for Zwy, the intending kidnappers’ car was stopped by Spanish police and a number of guns and documents were discovered after which the plot became clear.

A yacht was moored off the coast of Spain evidently waiting to convey the kidnapped Degrelle to Israel.

But let’s read the CIA’s Madrid Station report on the affair [see below the image]:

SECRET CLASSIFICATION

Abduction of Leon DeGrelle 28 July 1961

1. During the past few weeks, Station has followed with interest the development of the so-called abduction plot mounted against Leon DeGrelle by Zwy Herbert ALDOUBY and company. Chronological developments took the following pattern from our viewpoint here in Madrid:
2. On 4 July C reported to us that a French and an Israeli Subject had been confronted by at a Barcelona frontier post (see reference 5). On 10 July, Chief of Base, reported that the Subjects were Zwy Herbert ALDOUBY and Jacques Simon FEINSOHN with appropriate details and background. It also appeared that the Subjects had firearms as well as many incriminating documents in their possession that showed they were planning to kidnap or assassinate Leon DeGrelle (see reference C). On July 11, Chief of Base, C forwarded photographs of the documents, the arms they were carrying, and photographs of the Subjects themselves.
3. On 14 July 1961 another member of the ALDOUBY “team” entered into the picture when an American subject, Miss Carol Lois KLEIN, appeared at the American Consulate in Madrid desiring advice from the American Embassy. Miss KLEIN claimed she was the fiancee of Zwy Herbert ALDOUBY and she had met him after a shipboard romance in late May 1961 while enroute from New York to Europe on the SS Liberte. At this time she also met an associate of ALDOUBY named Igal MUSSENSON, an Israeli citizen. Miss KLEIN’s story is self-explanatory and a memorandum from the Legal Attache, Madrid Embassy, explaining came is forwarded as attachment A to this dispatch. It will also be noted on page three of this attachment that during the second interview with Miss KLEIN on 14 July 1961, she returned to the Embassy accompanied by a French Moslem girl whom she addressed as Barbara. We assume Barbara may be the so-called “Moroccan girl, professional spy”, mentioned in paragraph 9 of attachment to Reference A. She was later mentioned in report as the attractive blonde, a Moroccan Jewess who would “lure” Leon DeGrelle from his residence so that he could be kidnapped by ALDOUBY and company. She sat in on the first conference with Miss KLEIN along with the Legal Attache and the Consul. 4.
4. On 14 July [      ] reported to the writer that one Igal MUSSINSOHN (probably identical with Igal MOSSENSON) had been called to the attention of [     ] because of his unusual behavior. MOSSENSON crossed the Spanish frontier, at Barcelona on 2 July 1961 carrying an Israeli passport with a Spanish visa obtained from the Spanish Consul in Marseille, France. MOSSENSON was evidently under surveillance by him from the time of his arrival and traveled from Barcelona to Valencia where he continued their survey. When MOSSENSON was preparing to leave Valencia for Barcelona (date unknown), he decided to pick him up and interview him (because of the following, it is believed that he was picked up in Valencia sometime after the apprehension of ALDOUBY on 3 July). The interview determined that MOSSENSON carried identification listing him as a Captain in the Israeli Army and the police also discovered in his possession a roll of undeveloped film with the word “ALDUBI” written on it. Since no other incriminating evidence was found on the person of MOSSENSON, he was quietly asked to leave the country and was reportedly escorted to the Spanish border near Barcelona by [      ] and deported.

The CIA further recorded that the Spanish did not wish to make any public or official reference to Degrelle’s presence in Spain, so that Zwy and his other arrested accomplice would only ever face charges related to the possession of arms.

In spite of claiming to be merely a journalist covering a dramatic story, Zwy received the longest sentence of 9 years imprisonment.

Following various interventions with Spanish Dictator General Franco, Zwy’s sentence was miraculously reduced to 18 months and, with time served, he was quietly released to return – without difficulty – to the United States to continue his activities.

His arrest – and his later release – hardly gained any international press attention.

Zwy’s reputation as an Israeli adventurer – nay, an Israeli Mossad agent working undercover as a journalist and author – was well established in journalism, publishing and research circles in New York.

But in the period before the Internet and Social Media, few people outside of a circle in New York would have been aware of Zwy Aldouby’s Mossad activities – certainly no-one in Ireland would ever have heard of him.

As far as anyone was concerned, Zwy was an American of Arab origin, a “Look” magazine journalist and an enthusiastic supporter of the independence of oppressed peoples…

James Bowyer Bell and the IRA

Following his university studies and a Fulbright scholarship to Italy, American writer and artist Bowyer Bell had begun researching the Spanish Civil War and the Foundation of Israel, interests which he maintained.

In the mid 1960s after a spell of teaching and painting, Bell married Charlotte Rockey – a researcher and expert in matters concerning Egypt – and decided to re-enter academia by research and writing.

He published Besieged in 1966 and in 1969 The Long War: Israel and the Arabs since 1946.

Bowyer Bell was fascinated by Israel and Mossad and later published Terror Out of Zion: Fight for Israeli Independence in 1977.

In the mid 1960s, Bell had realised that the IRA in Ireland had been little researched and saw an opportunity to write a detailed academic and popular history of the IRA.

With many IRA veterans still alive and desirous of having the IRA publicised by an American academic, Bell was well received and his most successful and best known book, “The Secret Army: The IRA 1916-1970” was published in 1970 at the beginning of the Northern Ireland troubles.

International terrorism was a subject much in the news and governments were anxious to get a better understanding of the phenomenon. Bell’s knowledge and research were highly valued, apart from being a good earner as his book gained sales and popularity.

Bell founded a paid consulting company advising the US government and the CIA on terrorism.

There can be no doubt that Bower Bell – with his own research and publications about Mossad – was well aware of his Israeli friend Zwy Herbert Aldouby’s Mossad background, not least since Zwy’s failed attempt to kidnap the Belgian Nazi War Criminal in Spain and his short prison sentence there.

When the idea to make a film about the IRA was mooted in 1971 following the success of Bell’s book about the IRA, the choice of Zwy Aldouby as Director and Co-Writer was to give Mossad an unprecedented access and insight into the IRA terrorist organisation that had a long history of anti-semitism and involvement with Nazi Germany.

So Bowyer Bell chose as his film Director an Israeli with no experience whatsoever in film or documentary – but that wasn’t the point.

Bowyer Bell – long believed by Irish Republicans to be a true American friend of the Republican Movement – in fact betrayed those IRA leaders who granted him access to IRA operations in Belfast and Derry allowing him to film IRA Volunteers in action without any face masks.

As Bell was received across the Republic of Ireland by leading members of the Provisional IRA as they prepared to film in Northern Ireland, Zwy Aldouby was meeting and identifying all of Bell’s contacts while being introduced as a trusted Arab American partner of James Bowyer Bell.

Mossad’s overarching interest in the IRA was the certainty that Libyan Dictator Muammar Gadaffi would seek to arm and influence the IRA as he had already done with various Middle Eastern terrorist groupings, in particular the PLO. Mossad was not wrong.

In Northern Ireland, Zwy Aldouby was not only capturing film of the most active IRA Volunteers in the Belfast and Derry Brigades of the IRA, but also getting to meet those leading the IRA – Brigade Staff Officers – and those supporting the IRA – those making available safe houses and providing transport.

Bell had introduced him to the IRA’s GHQ leadership based in the Republic of Ireland.

But the only IRA leader Zwy filmed involved in an actual bombing was the Derry Brigade IRA Adjutant Martin McGuinness who – at that time in 1972 a few months after Bloody Sunday – was also working for the IRA General Headquarters Staff in Dublin.

So when Zwy Aldouby left Northern Ireland with unprecedented recordings of IRA Volunteers engaged in acts of terrorism, he also had proof beyond doubt of IRA leader Martin McGuinness ordering and engaging in a car bombing, if not also firing weapons at various British Army targets.

Barely had Bell and Aldouby left Ireland to return to America with a mass of filmed material, than the IRA called a June 1972 ceasefire as part of a choreographed lead up to secret talks in London in July 1972.

An IRA delegation met with William Whitelaw at the Cheyne Walk Chelsea Home of Paul Channon.

Among the IRA delegation was none other than Martin McGuinness, now “outed” to not only the British government but also to British Intelligence as a young, up-and-coming IRA leader who was at least willing to meet and talk with his British enemies.

But unknown to Martin McGuinness was that he had handed Israel’s Mossad not only a pile of incriminating evidence against himself, but he had also allowed Mossad unprecedented access to film most of the Derry Brigade’s active Volunteers in the period after Bloody Sunday in 1972.

Bowyer Bell’s edited film was one thing – the mass of unused film material was another and was just as important to Intelligence Services.

Who knows what other material the Mossad Agent recorded?

Martin McGuinness – Agent of Influence?

It’s one thing for enemies of Martin McGuinness to point to his many betrayals of Irish Republican principles as he secretly guided the IRA into constitutional politics and into the partitionist parliaments of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State.

Let’s ignore them – many of them didn’t know McGuinness back in the early 1970s and didn’t “operate” with him.

I did know him and I did “operate” with him in the early 1970s, both in Derry City, in Dublin around GHQ matters and in London when I engaged in the London bombings twice in 1973 – once in the summer and a second time over Christmas/New Year into 1974.

Look at the much-published 1974/5 IRA Ceasefire “Football Team” photograph taken in the Brandywell and showing most of the IRA’s Derry Brigade Staff Officers then who had taken a break from IRA activities owing to the ceasefire that lasted a number of months.

I’m fourth from the left at rear – McGuinness is centre front.

While we’re looking at an historical photograph – let’s reverse it to see the names of those who signed it and I’ll translate the Irish into English:

Terry Crossan, John Coyle, Mickey Deery, Willie Taylor, Martin McGuinness, Ducksy Doherty, Shane O’Doherty, Bobby Sheerin, Stevie Stewart, Tommy Mellon [O.C.] and Willie Taylor again…

The “PIRA Brigade Staff” note at the top left was written by an RUC detective after the photograph was found in a house raid.

Not all of the Brigade Staff members were in the photograph.

Let’s only concentrate on the view of the tried and trusted members [trusted by McGuinness] of the IRA’s Derry Brigade Staff who operated with McGuinness over many years – since many of them were not arrested or imprisoned or interned and managed to “operate” for quite a few years.

Some of them maintain now – and have maintained for many years – that the Derry Brigade Staff began questioning Martin McGuinness’ behaviour and activities as far back as the early 1970s – particularly questioning if he had indeed been “turned” to a degree not so much in a manner as to become a useless and short-lived ‘supergrass’ – the supergrass trials collapsed and achieved little – but to become something way more valuable.

No, they maintain that his activity was of a different kind – what Intelligence practitioners have called the activity of an “agent of influence” – someone left in place over the years to slowly and carefully influence an outcome in a terrorist organisation.

Think of the years of activity of Denis Donaldson or of Alfredo Scappaticci or of “Thatcher’s Spy” Willie Carlin – agents who were left in place for years…

The early and less sophisticated questions certainly surrounded Martin McGuinness’ behaviour in ordering two male IRA Volunteers to suddenly recognise a British Court in Belfast to make an unsubstantiated claim to a British Magistrate that they alone were guilty of IRA activities and that the British Court should not proceed with charges againt their female co-defendants – but not just any female co-defendants.

Shortly after April 24 1973, when Martin McGuinness’ girlfriend, Bernadette Canning, was arrested traveling in a car containing bomb-making materials – three electric detonators, three clocks and two batteries – her male co-defendants suddenly claimed at court proceedings that she and her friend AnnMarie Healy knew nothing about the bomb-making materials in the car.

This extraordinary intervention secured the release of Bernadette Canning whom McGuinness married the following year.

So McGuinness showed that he was capable of blatant acts of self-interest while an IRA Brigade Officer.

The questions concerned why did not All male IRA Volunteers suddenly recognise British Courts and make statements exonerating All females in the dock?

But they didn’t and Armagh Gaol was full of female Republicans for whom nobody had exercised any self-interest – they were ‘banged up’ and ‘doing their wack’ in some cases for many many years.

Why the disparity of treatment in the Revolutionary, Egalitarian, All-Republicans-Are-Equal Army of the Revolution?

Why did one IRA Volunteer, recently raised to the Derry Brigade Staff and to an adjunct position with IRA GHQ Staff in Dublin – why did HE think it FAIR and EGALITARIAN to use his IRA Authority to gain a self-interested advantage in a personal matter?

But let’s forget that entirely – even though not every Derry Brigade Staff Officer did forget it back then or since…

Let’s also forget the story about the IRA’s Quartermaster General, Brian Keenan, believing that Martin McGuinness had set him up for arrest leading to an 18 year prison sentence in England.

I’ve seen the various reports about Keenan’s alleged claims – I knew Keenan quite well – but I am not fully convinced by them.

Let’s move on to something different.

Mossad, British Intelligence and Martin McGuinness

The bigger questions concern McGuinness years of lies to his IRA comrades who were giving their lives whether being shot dead, blown up or rotting in prisons for decades – McGuinness lied to them about his plans for the IRA.

While McGuinness was swearing undying support for the IRA Armed Struggle, he was already negotiating to avoid a very very long prison sentence – he was seeking an Amnesty for the IRA’s leaders in return for putting the IRA out of business.

In the end, in full view of the Derry Brigade Staff Officers who had for years expressed doubts about his trustworthtiness, McGuinness finally stood beside the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland – the representative of MI5 in Northern Ireland – and declared that his former IRA comrades who did not agree with his Peace Process were “traitors” and that they should be informed on to the police…

This is something some of his old Derry Brigade Staff former comrades now claim they foresaw, they discussed, they feared, they had intimations of from back in the early 1970s…

But what was lacking was a smoking gun or an exploding bomb – and the Bowyer Bell film and the associated fact of its Director and co-Author being a Mossad Agent – provided the possible proof that early on McGuinness was compromised by his own stupidity, by the IRA leadership’s own stupidity in trusting any Yank Academic who crossed the pond to curry favour with them and publicise their dreams.

McGuinness had a series of terrorist charges hanging over him as portrayed in the film and a potential 20 year sentence for a carbombing – this for a man who had previously used extraordinary influence to gain a personal advantage in and among a number of imprisoned Derry IRA Volunteers…

A man who did something out of the ordinary for love, for family life – who might do more to avoid a 20 or 20 plus year sentence for his many many murders and bombings.

You have to make up your own mind based on the facts known at this point in time.

Who would ever have thought that a Mossad Agent would be introduced to the IRA leadership across Ireland by a trusted American academic writer and allowed to record and film a heap of information about leading IRA Volunteers and take that ton of film out of the country?

An American academic writer who had written books about Israel and Mossad, who worked for the United States State Department and advised the Central Intelligence Agency?

When you read this, you begin to understand how and why the IRA was quickly and easily infiltrated and overcome to its highest leadership.

So, was McGuinness compromised by the Mossad Agent aided and abetted by Bowyer Bell?