A dramatic development in the case of the "Ashkelon Hacker," Michael Ron David Kadar, who was extradited from Norway to the United States last June. An official affidavit filed by Jeffrey M. Olson, a senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), in a Florida federal court, exposes for the first time in detail the prolonged U.S. government efforts to secure the arrest and extradition of Kadar while he was in Israel. The document was submitted as part of the State’s opposition to the defense’s motion to dismiss the indictment against him.
According to the affidavit, the first request for the provisional arrest of Kadar was transmitted to Israeli authorities as early as April 21, 2017, immediately following the filing of a criminal complaint against him in the United States. The Israeli Ministry of Justice confirmed receipt of the request the following day; however, according to the American official’s testimony, the request was never executed, nor was formal notice of its rejection provided to the United States.
In parallel to the international proceedings, the State of Israel conducted a separate criminal case against Kadar for issuing false threats against thousands of institutions, including Jewish organizations and embassies. Kadar was convicted in Israel and sentenced to seven years in prison. In discussions between U.S. Department of Justice representatives and their Israeli counterparts at the end of 2019, the latter clarified that the chances of extraditing Kadar were low. According to the affidavit, the Israeli position held that the "Prior Prosecution" principle enshrined in the extradition treaty served as a barrier to extradition, as Kadar had already been prosecuted in Israel for conduct similar to that forming the basis of the American charges.
Over the years, U.S. authorities attempted to reach various arrangements, but these were unsuccessful. Even approaching his release from Israeli prison in 2024, the Americans sought to identify additional charges that did not overlap with the Israeli conviction, such as "swatting" incidents. However, before the review was completed, Kadar left Israel. Defense attorney Nir Yaslovitz, who previously represented Kadar, noted in response that the affidavit confirms his claim that the United States sought his arrest as early as 2017, and that Israel presented the local criminal proceeding as a barrier to extradition.