Israeli Spy Arrested

"Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel, asked about the arrest, said: "We know nothing about it. We heard it from the media."

Kadish's lawyer, Bruce Goldstein, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Pollard, accused of passing on large quantities of classified materials, pleaded guilty in 1986. Israel granted him citizenship in 1996 and acknowledged in 1998 the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst was one of its spies. Israel has unsuccessfully sought Pollard's release.

Kadish is a Connecticut-born U.S. citizen who worked as a mechanical engineer at the U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Centre at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, New Jersey.

His spying lasted roughly from 1979 to 1985, and his contact with the unidentified Israeli handler continued until March of this year, the federal complaint against him said. Based on circumstances of the case, DiGenova identified Kadish's contact as Yosef Yagur, who has been linked in court documents to the Pollard case. A Justice Department spokesman said he could not confirm that."  Swissinfo

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OK.  There was more than one Israeli spy working in the US at the time of the Pollard case.  Is this supposed to be a surprise?  People who were knowledgable have known for decades that the FBI has been working on espionage cases involving Jewish Americans spying for Israel.  It takes a long time to assemble court worthy cases for charges like that, especially against political resistance from administrations of both parties.  What you have seen in the last few years is the maturation of some of these cases in the presence of some sort of leverage whichthe FBI has developed that allows them to get the Department of Justice to prosecute.  There may well be more.

Americans (and others) should understand that all (grown up) countries spy on each other.  Information is the coin of international relations.  Spying is better than warring.  One should not assume that any country is "innocent" of such things.  If it is, the citizens of that country should be unhappy.  Their government is not meeting its security obligations to them. 

The Mossad or whichever Israeli agency was involved have long and tragic histories of using Jewish citizens of other countries to spy on their governments.  That is a most irresponsible thing to do.  The practise has led to the deaths or imprisonment of many Jews around the world.

What is their problem?  They can't recruit Gentiles?  pl

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/American_arrested_as_nuclear_spy_for_Israel.html?siteSect=143&sid=9004224&cKey=1208896681000&ty=ti

Comments

[doug]

Larry Franklin is a gentile, isn't he?

Indeed, Israel has an obligation to its citizens to spy on any country, friend or foe, that impacts its security. And we have an obligation to prevent such spying and prosecute as a deterent. It was always so.

[Paul in NC]

I suspect its not a matter of ability to recruit, but a matter of trust.

[Neil Richardson]

"Britain has no permanent friends, only permanent interests."

Lord Palmerston

[Montag]

Actually, Pollard wasn't recruited, he was a "walk in," in intelligence parlance--someone who spontaneously volunteers without being cultivated. The trouble is that these volunteers can UNvolunteer if they grow disenchanted, so Pollard's handlers induced him to take money for his services in order to keep him on the hook. This told against him at his trial when he attempted the pure-intentions defense.

But Israel wasn't always so open minded about spies. On June 30, 1948, a Hagannah Captain named Meir Toubianski was executed the same day he was convicted of passing information to Great Britain. OOPSIE! A year later he was given a posthumous pardon and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion apologized to his widow. This is Israel's Dreyfus Case, with some hard-liners contending that his rehabilitation was political in nature. One could say that Dreyfus was lucky to be persecuted by the French, who managed to rehabilitate him before they buried him.

[Cold War Zoomie]

They can't recruit Gentiles?

Who typically is a better spy - the ideologue or the materialistic opportunist?

Seems like the ideological one would be better.

These guys come to mind:

Cambridge Five

Does it matter in the end what their motivation is, though?

I don't think so.

[W. Patrick Lang]

CWZ

Ideological spies are far more dependable and trustworthy.

All

Larry Franklin is not an Israeli spy. He is merely a dummy who over-stepped the bounds. pl

[Jim]

We spy on most nations, but do we spy on Britain's and Canada's defense secrets in the same way we spy on Russia's or Iran's? No. And presumably Britain and Canada don't spy on us in the same way they spy on others. Thus, the question is, "Does our close ally Israel treat us the same way Britain does?" If not, is Israel really our close ally?

[condfusedponderer]

But why, aren't Israeli and US national interests identical? In fact, Israeli Spies in the US are heroes who are being politically prosecuted!

/snark

It is just a matter of time until the first US Christian Zionist is be caught for spying for Israel. And he won't do it for Israel, but to be raptured faster. Israel intelligence won't bother, thinking along Podhoretz line: "It is their theology; but it is our Israel."

[Henry FTP]

Ironically, Israel should have an easier time finding Christian ideological spies nowadays than it did 40-50 years ago, but a worse time with Muslims.

You have to wonder how damaging the last seven years have been on the American ability to recruit ideological spies, particularly in the Muslim world.

[Montag]

There's a pertinent passage in Eric Ambler's "A Coffin For Dimitrios," (1937) where the crime novelist Latimer is interviewing the retired spymaster Grodek. Latimer expresses sympathy for Bulic, a Yugoslav government clerk whom Grodek entrapped into selling government secrets and who was given a long prison term for it:

"My dear Monsieur Latimer," he retorted stiffly, "Bulic was a traitor and he was rewarded according to his deserts. One cannot sentimentalise over him. In war there are always casualties. Bulic was very lucky. I should certainly have used him again, and he might ultimately have been shot. As it was, he went to prison. For all I know he is still in prison..."

The problem for Israel is that with ideological traitors they don't have the luxury of Grodek's common sense attitude. After all, these "victims" have made sacrifices for "the cause"--certainly they can't be abandoned! The Israeli public are totally incapable of accepting that from the U.S. government's perspective Grodek was right. Each successive Israeli government must therefore in its turn be taught the salutary lesson that possession is nine-tenths of the law.

[Andy]

Here's an interesting and recent study at the problem of espionage (pdf file):

Twice as many American espionage offenders since 1990 have been civilians than members of the military, fewer held Top Secret while more held Secret clearances, and 37% had no security clearance giving them access to classified information. Two thirds of American spies since 1990 have volunteered. Since 1990, spying has not paid well: 80% of spies received no payment for espionage, and since 2000 it appears no one was paid. Six of the 11 most recent cases have involved terrorists, either as recipients of information, by persons working with accused terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or in protest against treatment of detainees there. Many recent spies relied on computers, electronic information retrieval and storage, and the Internet.

[Charles I]

"What is their problem? They can't recruit Gentiles?

Doesn't seem they really need to to date. Further, I suspect there's more wiggle/blackmail/barter room for Israel in the case of an exposed Jewish American spy than for a Gentile American.

[Kathleen]

"all grown up countries spy on each other". But do they undermine National Security?

So will the Aipac espionage trial be dismissed?

The investigation and trial that dare not speak its name in the MSM or the so called "progressive" blogosphere may just be swept under the rug?

What do you think?

[Andy]

And then there is this from the JP:

The espionage case revealed Tuesday by the US Justice Department may be 20 years old, but it could cause Israel serious diplomatic damage today.

With its publication, a number of questions arose that had Israeli officials troubled, foremost among them the timing of the revelation. Could there be an ulterior motive, possibly on the part of political elements in America who have an interest in souring US-Israel diplomatic relations?

"The content is not the only interesting thing here," said Zalman Shoval, Israel's ambassador to Washington between 1998 and 2000. "There is also the timing. If this is such an old story, why is it coming out now?"

and,

The concern in the defense establishment is that this affair could have far-reaching negative consequences, such as a dampening of relations with the Pentagon, which have only recently been normalized after going through a crisis in 2003 over Israeli defense ties with China.

This is of particular worry, since several important joint deals are currently on the table, including Israel's involvement in the Joint Strike Fighter program, and the integration of Israeli systems in the advanced stealth-enabled fighter jet. A new crisis with the Pentagon could cast a dark cloud over such deals and make Israel again persona non grata in the Pentagon.

Another possibility raised is that there are elements in Washington who do not approve of Israeli efforts to obtain the release of Pollard before President George W. Bush finishes his term in office. The exposure of another Israeli spy could put an end to that.

[jr786]

This is from the Jerusalem Post account:

Amid much speculation that the announcement of the arrest was not coincidental and was timed either to throw a wrench into US President George W. Bush's upcoming visit to Israel or to quell any possibility of Bush granting Pollard clemency before he leaves office in January 2009, one official pointed out that the timing was fortuitous on one account: The issue was completely overshadowed in the US news cycle by the Democratic primaries in Pennsylvania.

The story was relegated to the Metro section of The New York Times, to page 19 of The Washington Post and well down the blotter on the evening news programs, the official said with some satisfaction.

No doubt. Speculation by whom - the vast anti-Israel apparatus that managed to get the story buried on p.19 of the Times Metro section?

They even spin themselves.

[Marcus]

PL: "Americans (and others) should understand that all (grown up) countries spy on each other."

But how many "allies" trade the list of your spies to your number one enemy as Israel did with our spies in the Soviet Union? That's the rub.

[William R. Cumming]

The fact that the spying occurred at Picatinny Arsenal in the early 80's sends an interesting message to countries with sophisticated intelligence services and may explain timing of arrest. For other middle-Eastern opponents of Israeli with knowledge of past US Special Weapons processes and procedures, a guess of course, but could be in the nature of a warning round to some country.

[condfusedponderer]

The quote from the JP

With its publication, a number of questions arose that had Israeli officials troubled, foremost among them the timing of the revelation. Could there be an ulterior motive, possibly on the part of political elements in America who have an interest in souring US-Israel diplomatic relations?

Obviously, it isn't so that a spy working for a foreign nation is by itself reason enough for prosecution. If it is an Israeli spy it is certainly about ulterior motives - it is a politically motivated prosecution!

I think the prosecution is certainly about the services having a profound dislike for espionage, and want to see spies, traitors, prosecuted. Spies break the law, so generally the Justice Department has an interest to see them prosecuted.

The question for timing is interesting, but it is a s separate issue. It doesn't affect the question about the criminality of Kadish one iota: He is a criminal. He deserves going to jail.

It is absurd to suggest by asking the question for timing that now (the godless, America- and Israel hating, liberal, realist, whatever) sleepers in the intelligence services, the Pentagon and ... err ... especially in Mukasey's thoroughly politicised Justice Department have eventually succeeded in firing this shot at Israel and Pollard's prospects for pardon.

So I think this is already part of the damage control. I imagine a suave Richard Perle like character, lowering his voice, and telling the reporter, sub rosa, of course: "... but of course that's not the whole picture. Let's forget about that spy for a sec and ask: 'cui bono?' ..." True intrigue! Exciting! And so distracting.

[DaveGood]

Why would Israel need to recruit Americans to spy for them?

Consider the following list.....

Attorney General - Michael Mukasey
Head of Homeland Security - Michael Chertoff
Chairman Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board - Richard Perle
Deputy Defense Secretary (Former) - Paul Wolfowitz
Under Secretary of Defense - Douglas Feith
National Security Council Advisor - Elliott Abrams
Vice President Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff (Former) - “Scooter” Libby
White House Deputy Chief of Staff - Joshua Bolten
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs - Marc Grossman
Director of Policy Planning at the State Department - Richard Haass
U.S. Trade Representative (Cabinet-level Position) - Robert Zoellick
Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board - James Schlesinger
UN Representative (Former) - John Bolton
Under Secretary for Arms Control - David Wurmser
Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board - Eliot Cohen
Senior Advisor to the President - Steve Goldsmith
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary - Christopher Gersten
Assistant Secretary of State - Lincoln Bloomfield
Deputy Assistant to the President - Jay Lefkowitz
White House Political Director - Ken Melman
National Security Study Group - Edward Luttwak
Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board - Kenneth Adelman
Defense Intelligence Agency Analyst (Former) - Lawrence (Larry) Franklin
National Security Council Advisor - Robert Satloff
President Export-Import Bank U.S. - Mel Sembler
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families - Christopher Gersten
Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs - Mark Weinberger
White House Speechwriter - David Frum
White House Spokesman (Former) - Ari Fleischer
Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board - Henry Kissinger
Deputy Secretary of Commerce - Samuel Bodman
Under Secretary of State for Management - Bonnie Cohen
Director of Foreign Service Institute - Ruth Davis

Apart from all being current or former appointees to high government Office by GWB... anyone spot the common factor that unites all of them?

They all hold dual Israeli\American citizenship.

DaveGood

[different clue]

I also thought..how do we
know Israel is not recruiting gentile spies? If our spying detection/prevention people are primed to expect any spies for Israel to be Jewish, then Gentile spies might completely escape their attention.

In the same way, if our spying detection/prevention people think the average spy
for China is going to be ethnic Chinese, then non-Chinese spies might be the most effective spies China could recruit.

I hope our spying detectors/preventors have "fishy behavior" profiles and are able to detect possible spying from whatever source it comes, however thought-to-be unlikely. Also, I hope all our worth-protecting information is or will be guarded by spying-resistance protocols which would be designed to make highly visible any attempt to get around those protocols. Any attempt would therefor be scrutinized. And if the attempted get-around was simply due to selfish laziness about tedious protocols, then there should
be consequences for laziness ranging from far-short-of to just-short-of spy-level punishments depending on whether it was one-time or serial laziness, what was or could-have-been compromised, etc.

Wasn't Mr. Ames left free
to spy for decades against the CIA from within, because
his fellow CIAgents considered him ethno-culturally "one of us", and therefor protected from scrutiny by the unthinkability of suspiciousness? Didn't that
spy-for-decades within the FBI have that same "he's one of us" cloak of anti-scrutiny ethno-cultural teflon? I think his name was Mr. Hansen? It goes to show that spy-type behavior as such should be looked for, I should think.

And yes, just as other countries have a right to try spying here, we have a right to prevent spying here, and stamp it out wherever we find it. And we
even have a right to tighten
up our protocols and behavior-based search filters to the point where other countries find it impossible to spy here, if we can do that without destroying our own freedom and inter-ethnocultural respect within our own society.

[Tom Griffin]

Interesting take from Philip Giraldi in the American Conservative:

The leak of the information at the present time is believed to be linked to proposed closed congressional hearings at the end of this month in which the White House had planned to use several Israeli intelligence officers to provide evidence on the alleged Syrian nuclear program that was bombed on September 6, 2007. It is now unlikely that Israeli intelligence officers will allow themselves to be questioned because they would almost certainly be asked about Israeli spying on the US. Vice President Dick Cheney and Olmert had apparently planned on using the congressional briefings as a launch pad to intensify diplomatic and military pressure against both Syria and Iran. It is believed that the “doves” in the Olmert administration who leaked the information are seeking to make a military confrontation more difficult and are hoping that negotiations, particularly with Syria, will instead take place.
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/04/23/israeli-spy-case-will-name-more-spies/
Anyone know of any indications that Israelis were testifying at these hearings, or were due to do so?

[jon]

Col. Lang, the Israeli ambassador to the UN says that you're wrong. That or Israel isn't all grown up:

"In the wake of the Pollard case, the ambassador said Israel had made a pledge not to spy on the United States, "and that is something which I know that we have honored completely.""

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Israel_s_UN_ambassador_calls_Jimmy__04242008.html

But then, he also said this:
""Basically, Syria and Iran, together with Hamas and Hezbollah, are the main axes of terror and evil in the world," the Israeli ambassador said."

Which seems to be an opinion held by one person. Perhaps I could also interest you in a lightly used industrial facility in Syria? Minor smoke damage, but a great fixer-upper.

[Larry K]

About DaveGood's list of dual Israeli/American citizens: All of the people on this list are Jews and fervent or sometime supporters of Israel (talk to Israelis, though, about Kissinger's role in the Six-Day War). None of them, I'm pretty sure, is an actual citizen of both countries, unless you believe that all Jews are automatically Israeli citizens, which would be news to me. Is DaveGood referring to the so-called Law of Return? That's not the same thing as citizenship; it gives non-Israeli Jews the right to become Israeli citizens if they wish to exercise that right.

[Montag]

Actually, there was one famous Gentile Spy for Israel. When the French cut off Israel from Mirage jets after 1967 the Israelis were desperate to get their hands on the plans for the plane, so they could do the manufacturing themselves. They found a sympathetic Swiss Catholic who worked in the relevent department. He came up with an ingenious plan. Since he periodically took classified papers to an incinerator to be burned by the bale he took unneeded copies of the Mirage plans as per usual, but substituted bales of waste paper for the plans when they were supposedly burned--passing the real plans on to the Israelis for money. When he was caught he did time and at last report was designing refrigerators.

He insisted on being paid because despite his sympathy for Israel he felt he was entitled to be compensated for the risk he was taking in case he got caught, since he had no desire to live in Israel!

In the docudrama about the case I saw his Israeli handler told the joke: "What is the difference between a Swiss and a Romanian Jew? They'll both sell you their own Grandmother, but the Swiss will deliver."

[Mark Pyruz]

There was an infamous American memorandum that was pieced together from shredded documents in the seized American embassy in Tehran, that advocated the recruitment of Jews in Iran to spy on various elements of Iranian government and society. Needless to say, this American document inflamed Iran's revolutionary passions. For his part, Imam Khomeini issued a fatwa basically protecting Iran's jews from unjust persecution.