One good reason
why Israel should
not receive billions
of dollars in military
assistance annually
is its espionage
against the United
States. Israel, a
Socialist country
where government
and business work
hand in hand,
systematically steals
American
technology with
both military and
civilian applications.
The Israelis then
reverse engineer
this US-developed
technology and use
it in their own
exports with
considerably
reduced research
and development
costs.
The military
technology
sometimes winds
up in the hands of a
US adversary. For
example, Israel sold
advanced weapons
systems to China
that incorporated
technology
developed by
American
companies
including the
Python-3 air-to-air
missile and the
Delilah cruise
missile. [1] There is
evidence that Israel
stole Patriot missile
avionics to
incorporate into its
Arrow system and
that it used US
technology
obtained in its Lavi
fighter
development
program which
cost the US
taxpayer about $1.5
billion to help the
Chinese develop
their J-10 fighter.
The reality of Israeli
spying is
indisputable. Israel
always features
prominently in the
annual FBI report
called Foreign
Economic Collection
and Industrial
Espionage. The
2005 report, for
example, states:
Israel has an
active program
to gather
proprietary
information
within the
United States.
These
collection
activities are
primarily
directed at
obtaining
information on
military
systems and
advanced
computing
applications
that can be
used in Israels
sizable
armaments
industry.
It adds that Israel
recruits spies and
carries out
computer intrusion
to gain this
information. The
2005 report
concluded that the
thefts eroded US
military advantage,
enabling foreign
powers to obtain
technologies that
had taken years to
develop. [2]
A 1996 Defense
Investigative Service
report noted that
Israel steals
technology by
exploiting the
numerous co-
production projects
that it has with the
Pentagon. Placing
Israeli nationals in
key industries
is a
technique utilized
with great
success. [3] A
General Accounting
Office (GAO)
examination of
espionage directed
against American
defense and
security industries,
also completed in
1996, described
how Israeli citizens
residing in the US
stole sensitive
technology to
manufacture
artillery gun tubes,
obtained classified
plans for a
reconnaissance
system, and passed
sensitive aerospace
designs to
unauthorized users.
An Israeli company
was caught
monitoring a
Department of
Defense
telecommunications
system to obtain
classified
information, while
other Israeli entities
targeted avionics,
missile telemetry,
aircraft
communications,
software systems,
and advanced
materials and
coatings used in
missile re-entry. [4]
In June 2006, a
Pentagon
administrative
judge overruled an
appeal by an Israeli
who had been
denied a security
clearance, stating,
The Israeli
government is
actively engaged in
military and
industrial
espionage in the
United States. An
Israeli citizen
working in the US
who has access to
proprietary
information is likely
to be a target of
such
espionage. [5]
Recently FBI
counter intelligence
officer John Cole
reported that many
cases of Israeli
espionage are
dropped under
orders from the
Justice Department.
He provides a
conservative
estimate of 125
investigations into
Israeli espionage
involving both
American citizens
and Israelis that
were stopped due
to political
pressure. [6]
Stewart David
Nozette, a U.S.
government
scientist who was
arrested in an
October 2009 FBI
sting operation
after offering to spy
for Israel, has been
waiting to go to
trial on espionage
charges. [Update:
He was convicted in
2011.] Documents
confirm that
Nozette was a paid
consultant for
Israeli Aerospace
Industries and it is
believed that he
passed them
classified material
in return for an
estimated
$225,000. The FBIs
examination of his
computer revealed
that he was
planning to crack
into NASA and other
scientists
computers to
obtain more
classified material.
Other documents
demonstrate that
he was cooperating
with two Israeli
scientists who were
administrators with
Israeli Aerospace
Industries, Yossi
Weiss and Yossi
Fishman. Nozette
made several trips
to Israel without
reporting them,
which his security
clearance required
him to do. [7]
Israel is set to buy
twenty F-35 fighter
planes, one of the
most advanced
fighter planes in the
world. The $130
million planes
would be
purchased with US
military assistance,
meaning they
would be a gift
from the [largely
unwilling] US
taxpayer. But Israel
is balking at the
sale because it
wants to install
some of its own
equipment and
software in the
aircraft. The
Pentagon has
already made some
concessions but is
disinclined to grant
approval for all the
changes because it
would require
giving the Israelis
access to the
planes advanced
avionics and
computer systems.
Israel also wants to
independently
maintain the
aircraft, which
again would
require access to all
systems. The reason
for the standoff is
that Lockheed-
Martin and the
Pentagon both
know, judging from
Israels past
behavior, that Israel
will steal whatever
it can if it gains
access. [8
