An Officer in the Australian Army Stripped of Security Clearance Over Loyalty Concerns
ED: From my ebox – name withheld on request
An Australian Army officer has been stripped of his security clearance after ASIO determined he posed a risk due to his strong loyalty to Israel. ASIO assessed that the officer, identified as HWMW, was vulnerable to exploitation by the Mossad and had demonstrated poor security practices.
During interviews with ASIO, HWMW stated he did not view Israel as a foreign government and admitted he would share classified information with the Israel Defence Forces if requested. ASIO also found that HWMW had withheld details about self-defence, security, and firearms training courses he undertook in Israel, despite not being an Israeli citizen.
In a decision published by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, ASIO concluded that HWMW lacked the appropriate character and trustworthiness for any security clearance. The tribunal found that “HWMW is vulnerable to influence or coercion to enable acts of espionage or foreign interference by Israeli Intelligence Services due to his loyalty to Israel.”
ASIO considered lowering his security clearance but determined that no restrictions could adequately mitigate the risk of Mossad exploitation.
HWMW had served in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since 2004. He was granted a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance in 2008, allowing access to Secret-level classified resources, which was later upgraded to Negative Vetting 2 in 2010, granting Top Secret access.
Between 2014 and 2023, HWMW volunteered with a Sydney-based Community Security Group (CSG), an organization providing security services to the Jewish community. He travelled to Israel in 2016 and 2019 to participate in CSG training courses, which included tactical planning, self-defence, and firearms training. These courses were run by Ami-Ad, an organization funded by the Israeli government and staffed by former Israeli Security Agency members. HWMW acknowledged that these programs were a “natural recruiting pool” for the Mossad.
ASIO interrogated HWMW in security assessment interviews in 2020 and 2022. In 2023, the director-general of security issued an adverse security assessment recommending the revocation of his clearance, which he unsuccessfully appealed to the tribunal.
HWMW defended his actions, stating, “Zionism is an essential theme within Judaism,” and argued that the ADF should acknowledge that Jewish service members may have loyalty to Israel. However, the tribunal ultimately upheld ASIO’s decision, affirming that he posed an unacceptable security risk.
