Israel Apologizes for Thinking Gift From Chinese Embassy Contained Listening Device

Israel has issued an apology for looking a gift horse in the mouth. The Chinese Embassy to Israel on Monday sent thermal mugs to Israeli government offices as a gift in honor of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover. But the country’s Shin Bet security agency began investigating the gift after security personnel in the Ministry of Science and Technology discovered a suspicious device embedded in the mug that they believed was a listening device. The device was later determined to be a component of the mug meant to maintain a vacuum in the sides in order to maintain a drink’s temperature. The Chinese Embassy on Tuesday demanded that Israel issue an official clarification, and threatened that Israel-Chinese relations would suffer without such a statement, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported. The embassy said that the investigation was predicated on “baseless rumors [that] have a severe impact as they aim to drive a wedge between China and Israel, tarnish China’s image, and seriously mislead the public.” In general, all gifts given to government employees and officeholders must go through a security inspection. In recent years, Chinese students in several countries were found to be involved in gathering intelligence on college campuses and smuggling technology from them.