By Noah Rayman
CAIRO: Eye-witnesses told Egyptian investigators that Ilan Grapel, the alleged Israeli spy detained last week, spoke Arabic to them, prayed with them in Al-Azhar Mosque, and encouraged them to continue the protests against the government.
The accounts, published Sunday in Al-Ahram, add to the ongoing saga of the American-born law student who was picked up by Egyptian authorities for allegedly spying for the Israelis.
Grapel, a third-year law student at Emory University in Atlanta, holds dual Israeli-American citizenship and served as a paratrooper in the Israeli army.
Friends and family members say he is in Egypt for the summer working at a legal aid group for African refugees.
Assistant director St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Cairo Fiona Cameron confirmed to DNE statements give to CNN that Grapel worked for them for four days last week.
“We were unaware of his dual citizenship or of his military record,” she told CNN last Tuesday, saying he had been “thoroughly vetted before he came, though obviously not thoroughly enough.”
Cameron said that their organization was “pro-actively in touch with the Egyptian authorities” about his case but at time of press, she had nothing to add regarding the issue.
The Israelis have denied any affiliation between Grapel and the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
But Egyptian authorities say the 27-year-old has been in Egypt since around the time the January 25 demonstrations began and accuse him of inciting protests and friction with the armed forces.
Al-Ahram reported that Egypt has appointed a lawyer from the bar association to represent Grapel. Neither the United States nor Israel has provided an attorney as of yet, though diplomats from both countries met with Grapel earlier last week.
An American consular officer also visited Grapel on Sunday at the Prosecutor’s Office in New Cairo, according to an Embassy statement.
Egyptian state-run newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Sunday that Egyptian authorities were considering an offer from the Israelis to exchange Grapel for three Egyptian prisoners. That report has not been confirmed.
Before the weekend, Egyptian prisoners in Tel Aviv sent a letter to Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil El-Araby calling for their release in exchange for Grapel. And in Gaza, tens of protesters in front of the Egyptian consulate demanded a similar exchange for 100 Palestinian prisoners.
El-Araby has said that he will not enter discussions until the investigation in Egypt is closed.
Grapel has become something of an international hot topic, as some in Egypt and abroad question the allegations even as the Egyptian authorities continue with their investigation.
US Congressman Gary Ackerman, who represents Grapel’s home district in Queens, NY, told the Jerusalem Post that he is in regular communication with Egyptian and Israeli authorities.
Ackerman said that Grapel, who was once an intern in the Congressman’s office, was not a spy or affiliated with Israel’s Mossad. He affirmed that the New York native was working over the summer for the refugee aid group.
“This is like no good deed goes unpunished,” Ackerman told the Jerusalem Post. “He did some things that are frankly foolish… but a spy – give me a break!”
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also denied the allegations against Grapel.
On Israeli military radio, Lieberman described Grapel as a student with “bizarre and irresponsible behavior who has no ties with Israeli, American or even lunar intelligence services.”
Over the Web, commentators have questioned the veracity of spy allegations against a man who openly posted photographs of himself online and made no secret of his knowledge of Hebrew and his Israeli citizenship.
Users have posted on Twitter under the hashtag #elGasoos (the Spy) and on Arabic Facebook groups such as the “The Stupid Israeli Spy.”
