Shin Bet deports Spain's most famous clown upon arrival in Israel
Ben Gurion Airport security officials detain Ivan Prado for six hours, accusing the Spanish entertainer of ties with Palestinian terror groups.
By Barak RavidIvan Prado, the most famous clown in Spain, did not expect to be put on a return flight back to Madrid soon after arriving at Ben-Gurion International Airport late last month, after spending six hours with officials from the Shin Bet security service and the Interior Ministry. The officials accused Prado of having ties to Palestinian terror organizations.
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El Al planes at Ben-Gurion International Airport in July 2009. |
| Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum |
Foreign Ministry officials, meanwhile, say the incident caused grave damage to Israel's image in Spain.
Prado, director of the International Clown Festival in Galicia, arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on April 26 with a Spanish national of Arab origin. They planned to go to Ramallah to help organize a similar festival, but at passport control Prado was taken aside by a Shin Bet officer who asked him about his planned visit to the West Bank and about his connections to various Palestinian organizations. He and his female companion were held for six hours, during which they were questioned repeatedly, and their passports were confiscated.
They were sent back to Spain after an Interior Ministry official informed them that they would not be permitted into Israel.
After Prado returned to Madrid he launched a media campaign denouncing Israel and comparing the situation of Palestinians in the West Bank with Jews in Poland.
The incident sparked tension between the Israeli Embassy in Madrid and the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, prompted by questions to the embassy from Spanish journalists and fueled by the diplomats' anger at the Foreign Ministry's explanation that Prado was turned away at the airport "for security reasons."
The Shin Bet issued a statement to Haaretz lacking significant details about the reasons behind the decision. "We recommended to the Interior Ministry to prevent his entry into Israel after the findings of the security check produced suspicions about him," the statement said. "The man declined to provide complete information to the security people, especially in regard to his links with Palestinian terror organizations."
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Stuff like this really doesn't help - let the clown in, let chomsky in - Israel's openness is its strength
"After Prado returned to Madrid he launched a media campaign denouncing Israel and comparing the situation of Palestinians in the West Bank with Jews in Poland." Would he say so if he had been allowed totravel to Ramallah? It's obvious that the man is prejudiced against the Jews.Therefore,I find it justifiable that Shin Bet turned him away.
If he has any sense of humor, he'd better keep it and use it when Spain goes broke. ( soon I hear) Leave the comedy to professionals, Jewish gag writers.
With all due respect to the ISA, what possible harm could Ivan Prado have done? And if he truly has terrorist links, then why was he not allowed to enter and placed under surveillance in order for potentially useful information to be uncovered? Either way, this has caused real damage to our already tarnished image in Spain. What a pity!
UK refused to let dutch MP Geert Wilders to enter to England. USA refuse to let enter without giving any explanation. Only the Left Wing in Israel blame us that we are Fascist and Racist because unwanted Islam-Left-Wing Fascist are not allowed to enter Israel.
I live in spain and I am israeli. Do not need to explain to you that there are only 16000 jews here and since the inquisition of 1492 there is still lots of sntisemitism in spain. An ukrinian friend of my son is trying to visit sweden and you should see what problems she has to get in for a mere 3 weeks visit!!You need to prove you do not want to STAY, be a TERRORIST,etc...with spain it is the same , you shoulkd see what goes on at spanish airports if you come from south america to visit...you are VERY suspicious and have t be interrogated. Senor Prado did not want to enter ISRAEL ,he wanted to enter RAMALLAH.as we know there are no tourist attractions there(I was the police chief there after the 6 Days War) it is obvious he wanted to contact someone there who is NOT Israel's friend ,capicce?
Kudos to Shin Bet but they should not forget the class act clowns Hillary Dickery Dock and Obama Rama de Clama
1. The guy was going to Palestine not to Isreal. 2. Because Palestinian is de-facto ghettoised he had to travel through Israel to get there 3. He was organising a piece of fun for Palestinian kids. 4. He was perhaps going to give them some hope. Maybe this was his real crime.
The fact that this guys line of work is as a clown makes it all to easy to make light of the situation. The reality is that shin bet is an excellently trained security force that have a responsibility to make sure people are safe. History proves they do a good job.
I don't know if his deportation was reasonable or not, I've seen really absurd situations regarding security checks and it doesn't look like he was to plant any bomb disguised as a clown, this doesn't help Israel PR at all... I n any case no one has ever heard of this guy in Spain. Most famous clown? I had to dig through the web to find something about him, the guy is virtually unknown here.
I hate clowns. They totally suck.
En Español: No es muy famoso en España el Sr Prado. Tiene mas importancia la seguridad de Israel,para las personas que creen en la Tierra Santa.
I just arrived in Germany from a research visit to Israel and am not at all surprised about this story. The personel at the airport is the most unfriendly and incompetent people i have ever met. It is no good experience for the end of a visit. I definitely will not come to Israel for holiday! Being treated as terrorist only because you are travelling to Israel is strange and take care not to mention that you talked to some non-jewish people ! My colleague made the fault for buying Hallwa...the sweet was not allowed to fly in his luggage (checked in!!) but got an extra cartonage...that is no security, if it would be dangerous the hallwa shoulden't be allowed to fly!!
i don't think incompetence describes the personel at the airport...i came in as as tourist and American and I am glad that they check everyone coming in..they were extremely nice and friendly to me and helped me get to my cab thatthatwwwawaiting..anallowed hone
They seem to love it when the whole world laughs at them.
They seem to love it when the whole world laughs at them
... to Jews in Poland kind of proves the guy is at least a nutcase. He'd better not try entering Poland either after this.
They had no interest in going to Israel, but had to pass Israeli security in order to proceed to their destination which was Ramallah. Of course the clown had no "links with Palestinian terror organizations."; how absurd. C'mon, does any one out there believe this statement from the Shin Bet?
remind us of the old soviet union diffident officials and their fear inducing methods.
remind us of the old soviet union diffident officials and their fear inducing methods.
remind us of the old soviet union diffident officials and their fear inducing methods.
Sorry but in Spain we have never ever heard of this clown, He is absolutely unknown for us Spanish people.
He compared the situation of Palestinians in the West Bank with Jews in Poland although he should have recall firstly the horrific persecution of Jews in his own Spain lasting 500 years
When I see professional clowns, mimes, or people who makes ballon animals, I think of their relatives and how disappointed they must be. Jimmy Fallon
clearly haaretz knows better if he is a terrorist or not. after all haaretz clearly loves the shin beit these days and would never have an article critical to the shin beit. if we only had haaretz and their acclaimed editorial staff and commentators, israel would not exist anymore (and even that most haaretz journalists would agree to).
LIEBERMAN
... begins with Z. Ask anyone here!
Wow... Shin Bet helping destroy the image of Israel in Europe by detaining a... clown. What a security risk!
I live in Barcelona (Spain) and I guarantee you that Ivan Prado is not the most famous clown in Spain. In fact nobody knows Ivan Prado in my country, except some alternative and extrem leftist groups in Galicia (his native region in Spain). If you ask the spanish people about Ivan Prado, invariably the answer will be: "Who's that guy?"
the clown had better stay at home.they are badly in need of amusement.the spanish economy has collapsed.
My dear friend, Spain has not collapsed yet. Maybe one day (not very likely indeed) but not yet!
but your prime minister was close to a nervous breakdown yesterday.he called in the president of bank santander to pep him up. the bond markets are very iffy about your debt and the newspapers in the uk are worried about the loans they have made to you.i wish spain good luck.
it seems you may live in spain.why do the spanish dislike jews?there are very few living in your country.
they just don't like the way Palestinian people are being treated by the Israeli goverment...
Nobody knows this guy in Spain, believe me...
Are you crazy?? He just wanted to organize a Clown festival for Palestinian children!!! Which terror groups are your intelligence talking about??? Always the same shit...
The Shin Bet are the real clowns here... :) Well Israel ufortuntly denies entry at their own pleasure,, in many cases they have no real reason for doing so.
only poor, defenseless, and terrorized pals can be put in jail... obviously in this case, there would have been an explannation for isreal to be given to spainsh embassy
sad to see that the Shin Bet finds laughter, and a clown festival a security threat. The Gaza Blockade looks worse from an outsider's perspective every day. But Ivan Prado is far from Spain's most famous clown...please get your facts right.
i thought clowns were to entertain not to get involved with mid east problems?? if shin bet thought there was something not right with this clown..they have every right to do what they want. another question,why when israel does something to protect itself etc,they get a bombardment of hate and yet other coutries these people them to get lost.!! also the british goverment /nick clegg etc should shut up too they have more problems at home to deal with,they need to get off their hight horses concerning israel!
the anti-Israel pundits are so smug in their assumptions about Israel decision making while sitting outside of Israel in most probably some elses territory and having no concern about their own false sense of security. I will always prefer to accept the fact that it is better to err on the side of safety and security than allow 1 single small mistake that can cause harm and death. Because this man has a title super-clown does not make him any less dangerous than some lesser know person or known terrorist. Guy, Avi and Wayne have no sense of reality of what goes on in Israel other than their extensive research gleaned from a newspapers headlines. shameful intellectual dishonesty! and Jew hatred. It's inborn. Keep dressing up as objective clowns!
Security reasons? I don't buy it. It is only the small minded bureaucrats enjoying the denial of simple pleasures to a beaten enemy. What was the danger? Would Mr. Prado teach Palestinians to laugh at the absurdities of their extremists and the foolishness of the Israeli government?
Maybe he should of acted like a clown,that would have convinced the shin bet of his profession. If they deported him,they had good reason,it's not every day that Spanish clowns get deported.
See it from the positive side - Israel's image can hardly get worse. He was a security threat and had links to terror organizations just like the hundreds of other people from (so far) friendly states who get refused entry every month. Having contacts with Palestinians is considered a criminal offense by the Israeli security establishment.
Sheer genius. Does Israel rely on Hamas to manage her P.R? You should have let the clown (pun intended) in. Just gritted your teeth. Who knows? He might have done something and then you could have caught him. Worst choice: the one you picked.
....to the security people, especially in regard to his links with Palestinian terror organizations." may be because there is no such a links, idiot? And IF, he has, of course he would tell you... ----- It is easier to fight clowns in BGA than solving the conflict, huh?
If he doesn't take to security seriously...Than you must not tolerate it from anyone....
The next product of Shin Bet: making Israel the laughing stock of Spain.
Clowns are scary and terrifying, they are born in the woods where they run around wild then they are captured and put into circuses-but they are still very, very dangerous. KOL HAKAVOD, Shin Beit!
Lieberman - clown #1..always dressed in disguise as a foreign minister but has fooled no one. Bibi - not only a clown's name, but has the nose and demeanor to suite... ha ha.
Bibi the clown--good one! Fortunately, the US is not amused by his bag of tricks!
No terrorist supporters should be allowed in, no matter whothey are, and no matter what color their nose is.
Where actually does it say he is. The officials accused Prado of having ties to Palestinian terror organizations. If they had any proof of this, they wouldn't have sent him home. and take that red nose off.
Israel is fading into darkness with it's totalitarian behavior!
GOOD JOB Israel. You weren't fooled by wolves in clowns clothing!
It seems that it's likely that this clown has had contact with known terrorist. That is enough to have him flagged whether famous or not. Just because someone is a celebrity does not mean they are above the law.
rabin yitz was a leader of a registered known terrorist organization... but yet he was allowed to become aPM for Israel... no dbl standard here obviously...
illegal settler. The opinion of a thief is superfluous.
Israel's image in Spain is already in the toilet (and always has been)- so there is no reason to care or consider what the Spanish people think. Security is the priority.
He acted suspiciously and was denied entry to Israel. Big deal!! Who cares about this fool from Spain. Spain is the home of the Spanish Inquisition and the largest proportion of anti-semitesand anti-zionists in Europe.To hell with them!
Maybe his red clown nose was a secret weapon.
must be made in syria with the materials provided by IRAN ... through a carrier in IRAQ ... no other logical argument is possible.
Please stop blaming everyone for your own doings.
I didn't know that Spain's finance minister was visiting Israel!
finance minister, how silly! Money, is that all you people can think of?
How many clowns would Spain allow in to help organize Basque separatist festivals? The Spanish need to drink a couple of "thervethas" and relax.
When was the last time that Spain has barred anyone politically motivated? Could you refresh my memory?
'How many clowns would Spain allow in to help organize Basque separatist festivals?' Probably all who want to come. Spain, you see, is a free society. Thi
who wanted to make anti-British statements therein in support of the hunger strike of the IRA prisoners.
''cervezas'', you clown! (at least try to spell it correctly)
No more anti-Israel activists should be allowed into Israel.
Back again to basics, not everyone who pities the current pain of conquered Palestine is de facto an enemy of Israel. In any case Mr. Prado, sadly, was not denied entry to Israel, but to Palestine. Get it? How many years, decades of centuries do you think the current situation is going to continue?
The clowns were on their friggin way to Ramallah!
I've worked with this organization in the past. He's a clown who performs for children in the West Bank. That's all.
Bravo, it really shows your real values...
You sir, ARE a clown.
Those incidents are unnecessary and bad for Israel's image.
Enough! They are becoming an embarasment to the entire Jewish people!
you probably live in your nice neighbourhood, on a different continent... Which is why its ok for you that far away israel takes a chance
What is really an embarrasment to the entire Jewish people is the occupation and subjugation of a whole population.As long as this occupation continues stupidacts like forbidding clowns to come to Israel will continue.
It does not, just like Israel.
Ivan Prado and Shin Bet. Peas from the same pod. . . ;-)
Dont play dumb dude. We all know that European 'comedians' and 'clowns' have an agenda against Israel and incite using horrible 'jokes' (many employing the millions who died in the Holocaust). This is not funny and we do not have to welcome them. You can welcome them instead. How about that?
"We all know that European 'comedians' and 'clowns' have an agenda against Israel and incite using horrible 'jokes' (many employing the millions who died in the Holocaust)." I am from Europe and I know nothing of the kind. Please explain.