US officials: Extent of Israeli spying ‘shocking’

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: Times of Israel

Israel’s aggressive and widespread espionage activity in the US is increasingly angering American government officials and has “crossed red lines,” Newsweek reported Tuesday.

The report anonymously quotes senior intelligence officials and congressional staffers who have been privy to information on Israeli spying activities. Staffers called the extent of Israeli espionage “sobering” and “shocking,” far exceeding similar activities by any other close US allies.

Some of the spying was allegedly industrial in nature, conducted by Israeli companies or individuals. But a significant amount appeared to be state-sanctioned reconnaissance gathering, according to the report.

“There are no other countries taking advantage of our security relationship the way the Israelis are for espionage purposes,” one former aide who attended a classified briefing on the issue told Newsweek. “It is quite shocking. I mean, it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that after all the hand-wringing over [Jonathan] Pollard, it’s still going on.”


Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-officials-extent-of-israeli-spying-shocking/

[Ash_F]

1. But I thought spying on allies was A-OK?

I mean the NSA did it too, right?

[iamthebandfanman]

2. which is why we spy on them

and other allies..

people who think we don't need an agency that spies on foreign nations, even our allies, is being naïve ..

a quick look at world history proves that


I can promise that ALL our allies have some form of spying towards/against us :p

[Helen Borg]

24. Generally....

You don't spy on the hand that feeds you... If you want to continue being fed, that is.

[JackRiddler]

31. Banal bullshit.

Spying -- hostile covert action -- is what causes a lot of what's bad in "world history," says my quick look.

And Israel is not an ally to "us." I question your version of "us." I am an American and Israel is not my ally. Neither are the U.S. spook agencies.

[kelliekat44]

3. Latest Breaking News? I thought this was a report from 1980. nt

[Jesus Malverde]

7. It's news now because they want to join the visa waiver program.

US officials are cautioning that would be a mistake. Not only because of the spying, but because of the treatment of Americans who visit Israel and are subject to racial profiling of Americans.

“For decades, Israel has racially profiled U.S. citizens of Palestinian, Arab or Muslim descent attempting to enter the country,” said George Bisharat, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law.

“As long as Israel discriminates against U.S. citizens on grounds of ethnicity or religion, it remains an inappropriate candidate for our visa-waiver program,” Bisharat said.

It is primarily that unequal treatment that makes Israel ineligible for the program, according to the State Department. But the State Department and Department of Homeland Security also cite a pattern of young Israelis overstaying their visas or working illegally while in the United States, and a resulting rise in the numbers of Israelis refused a visa.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/lawmakers-pushing-to-add-israel-to-visa-waiver-program/2014/04/26/4c99f2d8-ccbf-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html

Most secular Israelis given a choice would rather live in the United States, than be subject to the extreme right wing religious political culture that dominates Israeli society today.

[Jesus Malverde]

4. Trying to shut down the conversation using a tried and tested political cudgel.

Israeli Officials: Spying Allegations 'Smell of Anti-Semitism'

Israeli officials denounced on Tuesday evening a report in Newsweek which said that American intelligence officials have linked the U.S. visa crisis to Israeli espionage.

The report cited these American officials as saying in closed conversations that "Israel crosses the line for espionage in the United States."

In response, Israeli officials told Kol Yisrael radio’s diplomatic affairs correspondent Chico Menashe that the report “smelled of anti-Semitism.”

"The allegations of espionage in the U.S. are false. Israel is not spying there. The report in Newsweek smells of anti-Semitism, we are portrayed as an enemy country,” one official told Kol Yisrael.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/180345

When you insult President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and all Americans. It's hard to consider that the work of an Ally.

The extreme right wing government of Israel is not working with us, but against us. Recognizing that has nothing to do with anti-semitism.

[Scootaloo]

17. They're not an "enemy country" no...

But fuck me if I can figure out what the US gets out of the "alliance."

I'm not being facetious, I really have not been able to figure this one out. Okay, back in the 70's, we wanted every little piddly anti-Left... er, anti-Soviet beachhead we could scrounge up. Indonesia? great guys. Iraq? No problem. Iran? Hell yeah. Israel? Why the heck not! But... that was then. The fuck are we still doing in this arrangement?

[Helen Borg]

25. The US is not in it

Because they get something out of it, at this point. They are just in it for historical reasons.

[IDemo]

5. "far exceeding similar activities by any other close US allies. "

Not - "far exceeding similar activities by the US or any other close US allies"?

[Jesus Malverde]

8. Its not run of the mill.

A congressional staffer familiar with a briefing last January told Newsweek that the testimony given to the panel on Israeli espionage was “very sobering…alarming…even terrifying.”

According to Newsweek the primary targets of Israel's spying were American industrial and technical secrets.

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Report-Israel-spies-on-the-US-far-more-than-other-close-US-351455

[olddad56]

6. they have to spy on us to find out what we are learning from spying on them.

why can't all these spies just be on facebook?

[DeSwiss]

9. K&R

- And the reason we know the Israeli's are spying on us, is because we read about it in one of Angela Merkel's emails. Before we stopped reading them, of course.



[center]Frying Pan ........................ meet ........................ Skillet
[/center]

[Ash_F]

10. That's not how that expression works. /nt

[DeSwiss]

12. It does when I do it. n/t

[Ash_F]

13. You know what? It's fine. /nt

[DeSwiss]

14. I know.

Thanks!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

19. Or...

[Purveyor]

11. kick. Thanks for posting. +1 eom

[mike_c]

15. when I read "U.S. officials angry to be spied on..."

...I wonder, is this satire?

[rocktivity]

16. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" Award"

When I read a thread like this ten years ago, I asked, "isn't Israel on our side?"

rocktivity

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. Who here is "shocked"?

[iandhr]

20. This is a pot meet kettle thing.

We do it to them they do it to us.

[JackRiddler]

32. that doesn't make it okay

We don't even know what we're talking about, is the problem. And by that I don't mean you and I are unqualified or don't have the standing, but literally that we aren't privy to the information -- we're subject to the action of secret agencies and organizations, without knowing what they're doing. At least we can tell each other platitudes and give entirely unfounded assurances about why it's presumably okay, since it's "normal."

[iandhr]

34. I wasn't saying it was okay.

i was just saying it's not a surprise.

[OnyxCollie]

21. And the NSA handed over raw intelligence to Israel.

Funny how that works out.

[azurnoir]

23. The Newsweek report was referring more to private sector espionage as opposed to governmental

The Jewish state’s primary target: America’s industrial and technical secrets.

“No other country close to the United States continues to cross the line on espionage like the Israelis do,” said a former congressional staffer who attended another classified briefing in late 2013, one of several in recent months given by officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, the FBI and the National Counterintelligence Directorate.

http://www.newsweek.com/israel-wont-stop-spying-us-249757

[OnyxCollie]

30. Thanks for the info. nt

[Alkene]

22. And so there's a punchline, already?

Or is it all just generally too sensitive.

This story makes me feel a little guilty to pay attention to, like I stood too close to the shared wall when the neighbors where arguing.

[Jemon]

26. They don't need a warrant

We are not Israelis.

[WinkyDink]

27. Pot, kettle.

[City Lights]

28. That's rich.

[sofa king]

29. Really? Why didn't we know this before?

Because we did, but the Bush Administration went to extreme lengths to cover it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Franklin_espionage_scandal

[Blue_Tires]

33. But I've been told *repeatedly* on this site

Last edited Wed May 7, 2014, 05:11 PM - Edit history (3)

that it isn't "spying" when other countries do it to us, so this story doesn't matter...

When we do it to other countries, it's a frenzy of global outrage and people are demanding apologies/explanations/investigations...BUT when other countries do it to us, it's because we did something to deserve it and we should sit quietly and just take it...

Where is Greenwald on this? Is he not offended that the freedoms and liberties of everyday Americans are being infringed on by the Mossad? Is he not outraged that Israel would brazenly deceive their closest ally for their own selfish, imperialist ends? How many terrorists have been caught from Israeli spying on Americans and American industry? Under what purpose could Israel ever publicly warrant such invasive surveillance? Is this another end result of Washington being "too subservient" to Tel Aviv? When can I expect my apology from Netanyahu? When can I expect the Senate hearings to start? I didn't consent to this, so where is the public debate? Where is the list of proposed legislative reforms for proper Mossad oversight and transparency?

Did I miss anything?

[Blue_Tires]

40. Kick...

[yurbud]

35. DC has been dropping hints that the free rein we give Israel is coming to an end

We've reached limit of what we can do by force in Middle East, and that is their only strategic value of Israel to the US--as a pit bull we set lose in someone else's yard and pretend it isn't ours when it tears up their yard and kills their kids.

[sarcasmo]

36. How many Billions does the US give Israel?

[dionysus]

37. back in college i met a guy who had claimed to have been a CIA asset in the 80s. he was one of the

head cooks at the cafeteria I worked for. he was formerly in the army and was stationed in German, and he was fluent in german.

after he got out, the CIA supposedly offered him a job as, I guess, "asset" would be the best word. he wasn't an actual CIA agent, more of a mole. I'm assuming he got paid something for it.

his job was to work in this big German factory, and if he saw any goings on that the CIA might find worthwhile, he was to report it back to his handler. guess he worked there for two years, never did find anything to report. but the stress he was under, being afraid of getting caught as an "American Spy", freaked him out so much (he couldn't sleep, got ulcers) that he quit and went back to the states.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

38. The "Israel at any cost" crowd is strangely quiet.

Wonder who they will side with?

[Blue_Tires]

39. From Newsweek:

http://www.newsweek.com/israel-wont-stop-spying-us-249757