Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu
changed his name ahead of Christmas and from now on will be called John Carson, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.
Vanunu, who explained that his new name was a Christian symbol, spent Christmas Eve praying in his room at the Anglican Church in east Jerusalem.
A large number of crosses were brought into his room, and Vanunu-Carson announced that he would spend the holiday praying and reading the numerous letters sent to him by his admirers all over the world.
Vanunu was released from prison in April 2004 after 18 years. He was convicted of revealing Israel's nuclear secrets to the British Sunday Times magazine while working as a radiation inspector in Dimona's nuclear reactor. He was caught by Mossad agents in an apartment building in Rome, and was smuggled into Israel by sea.
Vanunu explained to his friends that he decided to stay in his room at the church due to an order issued by the IDF Central Command head, limiting his entry into the West Bank.
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