America IS spying on Israel : [censored] Silversteins Ugly Panim

[muman613]

I think that this news is very interesting... A leak from the FBI appears to incriminate American intelligence agencies in spying on Israel, who is supposed to be considered an ally of America. When our brother Jonathan Pollard was charged with spying for Israel it was said that allies should not spy on each other. But America once again proves that it expects Israel to behave in a manner which America itself cannot behave.

This is more evidence that the age-old relationship between American and the Holy Land of Eretz Yisroel is deteriorating. While I do not agree with the new poster zionidf about wishing for the destruction in order to make Jews appreciate what we had I think that this revelation is bad news. One way of looking at it is that every nation most certainly spies on each other... But there is still something stinky about spying on your supposed allies.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/us/06leak.html

Leak Offers Look at Efforts by U.S. to Spy on Israel
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: September 5, 2011

WASHINGTON — When Shamai K. Leibowitz, an F.B.I. translator, was sentenced to 20 months in prison last year for leaking classified information to a blogger, prosecutors revealed little about the case. They identified the blogger in court papers only as “Recipient A.” After Mr. Leibowitz pleaded guilty, even the judge said he did not know exactly what Mr. Leibowitz had disclosed.

“All I know is that it’s a serious case,” Judge Alexander Williams Jr., of United States District Court in Maryland, said at the sentencing in May 2010. “I don’t know what was divulged other than some documents, and how it compromised things, I have no idea.”

Now the reason for the extraordinary secrecy surrounding the Obama administration’s first prosecution for leaking information to the news media seems clear: Mr. Leibowitz, a contract Hebrew translator, passed on secret transcripts of conversations caught on F.B.I. wiretaps of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Those overheard by the eavesdroppers included American supporters of Israel and at least one member of Congress, according to the blogger, Richard Silverstein.

In his first interview about the case, Mr. Silverstein offered a rare glimpse of American spying on a close ally.

He said he had burned the secret documents in his Seattle backyard after Mr. Leibowitz came under investigation in mid-2009, but he recalled that there were about 200 pages of verbatim records of telephone calls and what seemed to be embassy conversations. He said that in one transcript, Israeli officials discussed their worry that their exchanges might be monitored.

Mr. Leibowitz, who declined to comment for this article, released the documents because of concerns about Israel’s aggressive efforts to influence Congress and public opinion, and fears that Israel might strike nuclear facilities in Iran, a move he saw as potentially disastrous, according to Mr. Silverstein.

While the American government routinely eavesdrops on some embassies inside the United States, intelligence collection against allies is always politically delicate, especially one as close as Israel.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation listens in on foreign embassies and officials in the United States chiefly to track foreign spies, though any intelligence it obtains on other matters is passed on to the C.I.A. and other agencies. The intercepts are carried out by the F.B.I.’s Operational Technology Division, based in Quantico, Va., according to Matthew M. Aid, an intelligence writer who describes the bureau’s monitoring in a book, “Intel Wars,” scheduled for publication in January. Translators like Mr. Leibowitz work at an F.B.I. office in Calverton, Md.

Former counterintelligence officials describe Israeli intelligence operations in the United States as quite extensive, ranking just below those of China and Russia, and F.B.I. counterintelligence agents have long kept an eye on Israeli spying.
.
.
Mr. Leibowitz, now in a Federal Bureau of Prisons halfway house in Maryland, is prohibited by his plea agreement from discussing anything he learned at the F.B.I. Two lawyers who represented Mr. Leibowitz, Cary M. Feldman and Robert C. Bonsib, also would not comment.

Mr. Silverstein, 59, writes a blog called Tikun Olam, named after a Hebrew phrase that he said means “repairing the world.” The blog gives a liberal perspective on Israel and Israeli-American relations. He said he had decided to speak out to make clear that Mr. Leibowitz, though charged under the Espionage Act, was acting out of noble motives. The Espionage Act has been used by the Justice Department in nearly all prosecutions of government employees for disclosing classified information to the news media, including the record-setting five such cases under President Obama.

Mr. Silverstein said he got to know Mr. Leibowitz, a lawyer with a history of political activism, after noticing that he, too, had a liberal-minded blog, called Pursuing Justice. The men shared a concern about repercussions from a possible Israeli airstrike on nuclear facilities in Iran. From his F.B.I. work from January to August of 2009, Mr. Leibowitz also believed that Israeli diplomats’ efforts to influence Congress and shape American public opinion were excessive and improper, Mr. Silverstein said.

It also seems like the critter [censored] Silverstien is involved in this controversy. It looks like he was once again working against the best interests of Israel and the Jewish people. Dick Silverstein appears as a very wicked man, and he should be cursed.

[maelgwyn]

Its been going on for years, the US spy ship sank prior to the 6day war -etc. The US spies on the Brits, but where are the spymeisters of the calibre of Marus Wolf gone?  SSD

[Rubystars]

I think both Israel and the USA spy on each other. Why they need to do this I don't really understand.

[mord]

Silverstein ugly effeminate panim        here's more on this case from 2009  Leibowitz is a leftist     




http://jtf.org/forum/index.php/topic,41079.0.html       





Talkbacks for this article: 0
Article's topics: FBI,  Shamai Kedem Leibowiz,  Samuel Shami Leibowitz,  Justice Department

An Israeli-American former FBI linguist pled guilty Thursday to unlawfully passing on classified documents to an unidentified blogger, the US Department of Justice announced.
 

 

The FBI contract worker, 39-year-old Shamai Kedem Leibowitz of Maryland, who also went by the name Samuel Shamai Leibowitz, admitted that he disclosed five FBI documents classified as "secret" concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States, according to the Justice Department.

It is unclear what specific information he passed on as part of his illicit activities, which the Justice Department said took place between January and April of this year.

As worked out in the plea agreement, he is set to serve 20 months in prison.

"The willful disclosure of classified information to those not entitled to receive it is a serious crime," said David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, in a statement put out by the USDepartment of Justice.

"Today's guilty plea should serve as a warning to anyone in government who would consider compromising our nation's secrets.

"As a trusted member of the FBI ranks, Leibowitz abused the trust of the FBI and the American public by using his access to classified information for his own purposes," said Special Agent in Charge Richard McFeely in the same statement.

Neither Leibowitz nor his attorney could be reached for comment by The Jerusalem Post. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Leibowitz also has a past as a far-left Israeli peace activist who favored a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Additionally, he is a grandson to Yeshayahu Leibowitz, the Orthodox Israeli philosopher who spoke out against Israeli's occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

According to Leibowitz's blog, he is a certified Hebrew-English translator and a lawyer able to work in New York and Israel. On his Web site, he attributes his favorite quote to Albert Einstein: "Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population."  Smiley Smiley
« Last Edit: December 21, 2009, 08:12:17 AM by mord

[JTFenthusiast2]

It certainly does Muman.  What is a panim?

[muman613]

It certainly does Muman.  What is a panim?

Panim is FACE in Hebrew...

As in 'Hester Panim' which means 'The Hidden Face' but refers to how Hashem hides his presence in this world. We learn about 'Hester Panim' during Purim...


http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5770/netzavim.html

Hester Panim is a commonly used term in the Torah world. Literally, it means "hiding face," but it refers to concealed Divine Providence, not the lack of it, just the concealment of it. For, a fundamental of fundamentals is that G-d always runs the world, even recreating it anew each moment. It's just that, when we merit it, we get to watch Him do it.

Well, not exactly see Him recreate the world each second, but to at least see or sense that He is behind everything. Today, the average person either doesn't believe in G-d, or at least doesn't believe that He is involved in the everyday affairs of man. He lives his life as if G-d has little if any interest in his life at all, and therefore lives as he sees fit.

[JTFenthusiast2]

Thank you Muman