[Israel]: Message for Sweden

[Zak]

Government of Israel
Security Classification: ENCRYPTED​

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Dear Secretary Margot Wallström,

I am writing to you today as the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs under the new Labor government headed by Merav Michaeli, my department has been hard at work to ensure the safety and free flow of people around the world but it seems like Israel has been placed under a 'Do Not Travel' ban by the Swedish Department of Foreign Affairs. I would like to invite you to a call with myself so that we can reiterate our strong support for the Swedish and Israeli relationship that has been prosperous and we would like to grow upon.

Kind Regards,
Isaac Herzog
Minister of Foreign Affairs
State of Israel

Connor

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[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration​

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Dear Isaac Herzog,

First and foremost allow me to congratulate you on your recent appointment and the success of your party in election to government.

I am pleased to have had you contact me as I have recently been in meetings with the Bureau for Asian Affairs, of which your nation sits apart of within our department, where the current travel advisory status has been discussed as part of our recent update. It was mentioned that the War of the Middle East had ended however without direct contact with your government we were simply unable to verify that it were safe within Israel for Swedish nations to resume normal travel; a risk we were unwilling to take to obvious reasons. I should be clear that the 'Do Not Travel' marker on your state bares no reflection on our political status and is simply a safety precaution.

It would be a pleasure to have a call with you at a time of your convenience.

Regards,
Margot Wallström
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of Sweden

Zak

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CONFIDENTIAL
Crown Copyright © Kingdom of Sweden
All information is subject to the Swedish Document Classification and Security Act 1995​

 

[Zak]

A call would be placed to the office of Margot Wallström which was handled by Isaac Herzog, the call was encrypted and confidential. He gathered his papers that were needed for the call from within the confines of his office. The call would be made to discuss bilateral relations and continue the strong relationship between the two nations along with discussing current events that are happening around the world.

Connor

 

[Zak]

Connor

 

[Connor]

The telephone call would undergo initial validation by the National Security Office whom would confirm no external interception of passive forwarding were in place. Once this was verified the call would engage under a standard of encryption equivalent to that expected by a 'SECURE' classification in line with the Document Classification and Security Act 1995. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs, not often taking a call directly, would begin the conversation from the comfort of her desk where she too had a number of papers with information relevant to a Swedish-Israeli relationship.

"Minister Herzog, good afternoon!"

Zak

 

[Zak]

Isaac Herzog leaned back into the comfort of his office chair with the Israeli flag draped on a pole behind him. He had various papers prepared by members of his department on the relationship between Israel and Sweden. He took a sip of water before replying to the Swedish Secretary as he was keen to get down to the order of business.

"Secretary Wallström, it's a pleasure to speak to you. Thank you for taking my call at such short notice, I trust things are good in your country? I was quite concerned to hear of the travel advisory status gave by your country in regards to the State of Israel and we hope that things can be cleared up during this discussion as well as discuss a number of other things on my agenda and if you have anything to discuss on your agenda then I hope that these can be discussed and further hope that this will be a great call for both of us."

Connor

 

[Connor]

"We are well up here in Sweden, just regenerating and recuperating following a tense period through the Middle East and Europe which has undoubtedly taken its toll. We're storming forwards however where we seek to cooperate closely with our friends, allies and partners worldwide in a variety of different projects which we hope can begin to unite the world, despite our differences. I can understand why you would be concerned about the revised International Travel Advisory and I must stress that this is no reflection on our personal bilateral relationship but much rather a perceived threat to Swedish nationals looking to travel abroad. The war made Israel a target and we were unable to categorically assure the public that the region was safe for tourism. Nonetheless I am keen to discuss this matter with you.

At present I have not received an up-to-date brief from the Department of Home Affairs who are responsible for the National Security Office, the agency used to secure sites of diplomatic interest around the world. Do you have an update in relation to regional tensions?"

Zak

 

[Zak]

"Things are going well here in the Middle East, things are calm after the war. We are currently rebuilding our country after being riddled with debt under the previous administration but we're getting there. I can run through a list of measures that we currently have in place to protect our country and tourists visiting Israel if you wish?

We want Sweden to reconsider the travel status set upon the State of Israel because approximately fifteen thousand Jews live in Sweden and we want to welcome them with open arms whether they're coming on holiday or are looking to move here in the future under our aliyah program which is our relocation program for Jews who qualify for Israeli citizenship. Approximately 120,000 also live in South Africa, how are things going in the country in relation to development and protection of local communities, it is to my understanding that the Israel Defence Force assisted your armed forces a few years ago."

Connor

 

[Connor]

"Debt appears to be a reoccurring theme through many continents around the world and seems to be the catalyst for the deconstruction of many governments - I am pleased however to hear that despite your troubles you are working on rebuilding your country, as the people deserve following a period of utter turmoil.

If you could, please, I am intrigued as to what makes Israel safe for tourism again - and importantly how you have measures in place to either deter further attack or defend against one should the worst case scenario rear its ugly head again."

Zak

 

[Zak]

"We have deployed extra officers from the Israel Border Police which is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. Their primary objective is to operate in Jerusalem which is an area where many tourists visit. They are responsible for counter-terrorism and law enforcement operations in the Jerusalem and the whole of the West Bank. We have also made it our primary objective to rebuild the Israel Security Agency which is known as Shin Bet here in Israel which their duties include safeguarding state security, exposing terrorist rings, interrogating terror suspects, providing intelligence for counter-terrorism operations, securing important infrastructure and government buildings, and safeguarding Israeli airlines.

We will be deploying undercover units to key infrastructure such as shopping malls, stadiums, beaches & cultural monuments to ensure that maximum security is kept not just for Israeli citizens, but those who visit our wonderful country, we are making it our mission to protect everyone Secretary Wallström. I would like to further extend an offer of invitation to come to Israel and see the wonderful work that is going on in our country, not just to improve security but also other areas such as infrastructure projects, tourism projects and public sector projects. Israel is looking to become a key leader within the Middle East."

Connor

 

[Connor]

"Are there any visa restrictions in place for visiting Swedish nationals and if so are there any anticipated delays with the processing of these applications as a result of the recent war or even as a result of the changes in security procedures? and are there any perceived immediate security threats at present that could grow in threat, harm or risk? The changes you have made, primarily in and around that of localised domestic security is absolutely phenomenal and will go a low way to make Israel a safer place for not only visitors but also those that live in your great nation. I do hope that, in the future, we can explore ways in-which our security agencies can work closer, particularly in and around the counter-terrorism spectrum from which we have unfortunately seen tragedy in both Stockholm and Cape Town.

There is no doubt that Sweden, alongside the coalition of forces, played a key and overt role in the offensive against Turkey and their allies during the war. As a result of our action, we closed our diplomatic mission and recalled our dignitaries. Changes to our International Travel Advisory will make us an obvious risk to any cells still in existence; or perhaps even governments laying under the radar at present - in order to reduce this risk we would be keen to explore the potential of armed security at our mission if it were to reopen. We previously had an armed task force in Belgium which was a huge success. Is this something you'd be willing to explore?"

Zak

 

[Zak]

"Yes, it could be something that we would be willing to explore and I will pass this onto the Security Cabinet when we convene after this call. Israel does lay a claim over the entirety of the West Bank but does not currently have any military forces in the area due to budget cuts under the previous government. Israel currently operates a visa-free policy but my department is currently drawing up legislation for visa restrictions where
visitors to Israel must obtain a visa from an Israeli diplomatic mission in their country of origin which will then allow us to open the door to visa-free agreements which is something we would like to put on the table with our two countries.

Over the next few years, we anticipate our intelligence services to be some of the best in our continent and strive to be some of the best in the world. We would like to place the idea of an intelligence sharing agreement on the table which will allow our two countries to cooperate in a number of areas since the African and Middle Eastern areas can be a hotspot for terrorist activities and with the increase of terrorism on the rise, this is something we want to prevent and given the fact that Israel is one of the leading countries in the Middle East and given the fact that South Africa is a global player within the continent, I am sure you want to protect your population not only in Africa but also back home in Sweden."

Connor

 

[Connor]

"I would appreciate that. I have no doubt that the lawful access to your country is in accordance with international standards and second-to-none are your aspirations to build a world-class security services framework which can coincide with established arrangements by the Global Assembly. I trust you are up to date with the Vienna Convention and the amendments my associates representing Sweden made in and around security; most of which were adaptations of the now defunct Resolution on International Diplomacy? Your security services would ordinarily be trusted to reinforce the security of our diplomatic missions abroad, something we are keen to establish; and of course would be essential should the travel ban be lifted.

The National Security Office, our security service responsible for national security and diplomatic protection amongst others, have an operation - Operation Scimitar. As part of this operation every single delegate, site of interest, embassy, consulate, you name it, has a security grading which coincides with a level of response. The Department of Home Affairs have liaised with the NSO and determined that the embassy in Israel will be upgraded to a G2L-OS which, should you agree, will incorporate uniformed National Security Officers deployed on a security placement. This will include an armed provision.

I suppose my question, Minister, is this something you are open to? International law requires your authorisation."

Zak

 

[Owen]

Outgoing Minister Herzog would respond.

"I'm sorry Madam Wallstrom, it appears as a result of the election victory I am being demoted to Minister for Housing and Construction. I will pass you on to the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shimon Peres."

Shimon would pick up the phone.

"This is Minister Peres. How may I be of assistance Madam..........."

He would look at the sticky note in front of him.

"Wallstrom."

Connor

 

[Owen]

The line would be silent for quite a while now. The Minister would instead write a letter to his Swedish counterpart.

​

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MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: PROTECTED (Encrypted)​

5 August 2001​

Dear Madam Wallström, I have been informed by the staff here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that upon myself taking office as the Minister, the former Minister was in discussions with yourself over the status of the Sweden-Israel relationship, particularly in relation to the travel advisory and the status of your embassy here in Israel. I am opening this line of communication with you in the hopes to try and resolve this issue. The new government is progressive, left-wing and more open to relations with all countries than the previous conservative government. We want to see Swedish tourists return to visiting the many sites we have here in Israel. Can I ensure you that we maintain one of the highest-level of internal and external security in the world. I will not hide that we face threats, we face threats internally through terrorism, we face threats externally through our neighbours rejecting our existence. Our military is now formidable and capable of responding to these threats and never again will a nation like Turkey or Saudi Arabia attempt to threaten us again. We are in the process of finalising a peace treaty with Turkey. If not at the very least, we would appreciate that the travel advisory is split up into zones in accordance with the threat in that area. Obviously the threat of terrorism, unrest or conflict within the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, the border with Lebanon and Jerusalem is more than the threat in say Tel Aviv, Haifa or Eilat. We also believe it is time to reopen the Swedish Embassy, the new government's policy is that we prefer Jerusalem but we respect other nations wishes to have their embassies in other places like Tel Aviv. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Shimon Peres.

Foreign Ministry Building, GIVAT RAM, JERUSALEM, ISRAEL 96265​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

Connor

 

[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration​

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Dear Shimon Pres,

Thank you for your correspondence relating to the Sweden-Israel friendship, one that's seen turbulence over the last few years which, unfortunately, we have been yet to rectify with a strong and stable government. You are right in your assessment that we previously began talks with your predecessor in order to discuss the current political climate between our states and seek to regenerate our diplomatic ties, but again we saw the collapse of this government, as we have seen many, many times prior. I am beginning to grow concerned that any arrangement between us will soon crash and burn learning the next government to collect the pieces for reconstruction.

However, as ever, our foreign policy remains strong: we will endeavour to fix the wrongs of the past.

Following a troubled few years my bureau specifically has been tasked with ensuring that Europe does not similarly crash and burn as a collective. Matters of national security have seen to two recent terror attacks on Swedish soil and our involvement in a European war: one which begun attempting to defend your borders. We were disappointed by your minimalist involvement in this war. Nonetheless, I am open to discussing this with you at length so we can at least attempt to reestablish balance in our relationship and above all else make Israel a safe place for Swedish nationals to visit, study and work.

Unfortunately due to domestic matters Secretary Wallström is otherwise engaged and passes her sincerest apologies. At a time of your earliest convenience please feel free to securely contact my office in order to discuss the aforementioned matters in more detail. I too look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Lucia Björklund
Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of Sweden

Owen

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SECURE
Crown Copyright © Kingdom of Sweden
All information is subject to the Swedish Document Classification and Security Act 1995​