ICYMI: Erdogan sends Deputy Mayor(!) to greet Biden at airport, Biden calls coup plotters 'terrorists'
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
You probably didn't hear much about Joe Biden's trip to Turkey last week. It's funny how Biden was 'humiliated' six and a half years ago when an Israeli bureaucrat announced a building permit when he was here in Israel, but apparently didn't notice who greeted him at the airport in Ankara last week. But don't worry - that didn't stop Biden from sucking up to Sultan Erdogan.
Erdogan sent a lowly deputy mayor to meet him at the airport and
later said the US must arrest Gulen to stop him from giving press
interviews.
Biden called the coup plotters “terrorists” and urged Kurdish forces
in Syria to move away from Turkey’s borders, but he said the US must
follow due process on Gulen.
“The constitution and our laws require for someone to be extradited
that a court of the United States has to conclude there’s probable cause
to extradite," he said.
"Thus far ... there has been no evidence presented about the coup."
The rift between Western powers and their Nato ally in the Middle
East has prompted speculation that Turkey might forge a new alliance
with Russia.
Erodgan met Russian leader Vladimir Putin earlier this month, while
Russian propaganda has switched to highlighting irritants in EU-Turkey
and US-Turkey relations.
By the way, those apartments are now being built six and a half years later. They're scheduled to be ready in 2020 (there's no infrastructure there - that comes first). Aren't double standards grand?
Don't try to wish Israel a happy birthday on Michigan Public Radio
Michigan Public Radio has refused a four-word advertisement wishing Israel a happy birthday, calling it 'radioactive.' This came via Honest Reporting.
For sponsoring a day’s broadcast of Michigan Public Radio, Lisa Lis
was told she was entitled to have a message broadcast on the air. She
chose a four-word sentence, “Happy 68th birthday, Israel.” The station
rejected that line as too radioactive, saying, “this message would compromise the station’s commitment to impartiality and that it crosses over into advocacy, or could imply advocacy,” reports Deadline Detroit.
My hope for Israel as it celebrates 68 years of statehood
is that the public will cease to treat any mention of Israel as a
controversial topic. A non-political offering of congratulations to Israel on its anniversary of independence should be taken at face value and not made into a controversy.
If you think Michigan Public Radio was 'winging it' in order to find an excuse for not carrying the message... you're right. Here's more from that Deadline Detroit link.
Lis, a self-proclaimed progressive and strong supporter of
Israel, whose husband is Israeli and whose son is in the Israeli Defense
Forces, wanted her message to celebrate Israel. Eventually she settled
on "Happy 68th Birthday Israel." Israel celebrates Independence Day this
year on May 12.
Initially, "blessing" was in her message, but the station said that
implied something religious, so she dropped that word. Then the station
said it couldn't accommodate the wish because it needed two months'
notice.
Then the station rejected the message outright. Alison Warren, associate director of development, wrote in an April 26 email:
Dear Lisa,
We will not be able to air your day sponsorship message as written.
We have determined that this message would compromise the station's
commitment to impartiality and that it crosses over into advocacy, or
could imply advocacy.
If there is another message, perhaps celebrating a birthday or
anniversary of an individual, please let me know and I'd be happy to
assist you.
"I'm very upset," said Lis, a daughter of Florine Marks of Weight
Watchers' fame. "It’s sad. There's plenty anti-Israel messages out
there, and they won't allow something for Israel." Lis said she and her
husband, Hannan Lis, donate $40 per month.
...
Last Friday, Lis took it to the next level, writing about the conflict in a weekly newsletter emailed to about 1,000 people.
I am in a battle with Michigan Radio to use my Day Sponsorship to wish
Israel Happy 68th birthday. They denied my request because they said it
would "compromise the station's commitment to impartiality and that it
crosses over into advocacy".
Why would Public Radio need to be impartial about a legally
recognized country other than the fact, many want her wiped from the
face of the earth. Would it be a problem if it were the birthday of
England, Norway or South Sudan?
Israel is a hot button country that the world has accepted as
questionable and debatable and the major infraction Israel has committed
is purely her existence. By the way, I truly look forward to expressing
my same salutation when Palestine can celebrate her birthday.
Deadline Detroit emailed executives at the station Sunday and left phone messages Monday.
Steve Schram, executive director and general manager, responded Monday:
The current request was denied because it doesn’t meet our day
sponsorship policies, which state “typical messages honor an
individual’s birthday, anniversary, retirement, graduation, or other
personal event.”
In accordance with our rules governing donor acknowledgments,
announcements containing political or religious messages are not
acceptable This was shared with the donor.
This policy is not unique to this station and is similar to other public radio stations across the country.
Michigan Radio describes itself as "the state’s most listened-to public radio service, . . .with a broadcast signal that reaches 80% of Michigan’s population." Its three stations -- WUOM in Ann Arbor, WFUM in Flint and WVGR in Grand Rapids.-- "serve approximately 500,000 listeners each week across the southern half of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula."
...
Interestingly, during the volley of emails, Larry Jonas, director of
development at Michigan Radio, responded about whether it would allow
"Happy Birthday Norway."
Jonas wrote to Hannan Lis:
The answer to your question about whether or not we would allow a
"Happy Birthday Norway" is no. . . . We would not air such a message.
Harmless as it may seem, it forces us to make the choice between which
countries or political bodies are worthy of on-air recognition and which
are not.
Mind you, in the initial response, the station said wishing happy
birthday to Israel "would compromise the station's commitment to
impartiality and that it crosses over into advocacy, or could imply
advocacy."
Jonas would be hard-pressed to find many groups protesting U.S. policy in Norway.
Maybe it's time for the Lis's to find a new charity to which to donate that $40 per month. Since their son serves in the IDF, how about American Friends of the IDF?
Shavua tov, and a good week to everyone from Boston.
If you think friends don't spy on friends, you're wrong. Of course, when the friends are doing the spying on behalf of Israel, they end up in jail for 30 years and then cannot leave the United States once they are released. But it's perfectly okay for the United States and Britain to spy on Israel.
The
United States and Britain have monitored secret sorties and
communications by Israel's air force in a hacking operation dating back
to 1998, according to documents attributed to leaks by former U.S. spy
agency contractor Edward Snowden.
Israel voiced
disappointment at the disclosures, published on Friday in at least two
media outlets and which might further strains ties with Washington after
years of feuding over strategies on Iran and the Palestinians.
Israel's
best-selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said the U.S. National
Security Agency, which specialises in electronic surveillance, and its
British counterpart GCHQ spied on Israeli air force missions against
Gaza, Syria and Iran.
The spy operation, codenamed "Anarchist", was run out of a Cyprus base and targeted other Middle East states too, Yedioth said.
Online
publication The Intercept, which lists Snowden confidant Glenn Greenwald
among its associates, ran a similar report, with what it said were
hacked pictures of armed Israeli drones taken from cameras aboard the
aircraft.
Yedioth said German news-magazine Der
Spiegel, whose publication day is Saturday, also planned to run an
article based on Snowden's leak.
...
[Energy Minister Yuval] Steinitz said Israel was "not surprised" by the hacking described in the latest Snowden leak.
"We
know that the Americans spy on the whole world, and also on us, also on
their friends," he said. "But still, it is disappointing, inter alia
because, going back decades already, we have not spied nor collected
intelligence nor hacked encryptions in the United States."
Hey Yuval - are you sure they're our friends? After all, they've been telling us for 30 years that friends don't spy on friends.
#DoubleStandard When it's okay to pay 'migrants' to leave and when it's not
Norway is offering large sums of money (80,000 Kroner - some $9,300) and free plane tickets to 'migrants' (Muslims) to leave.
“They thought that when they came to Norway they would get protection
rather quickly. And that they would have the opportunity to work or take
an education – and maybe even to get their family to Norway,” Katinka
Hartmann, head of the The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration’s
(Utlendingsdirektoratet - UDI) return unit, told broadcaster NRK.
But with family reunification application processing times taking
years, many have decided that they don’t want to wait and have applied
for financial assistance to return home.
According to UDI, over 900 people have applied to leave Norway with
financial support from the state. A family with two children can receive
upwards of 80,000 kroner ($9,300 or 8,600 euros) in addition to having
their airline tickets bought by the state.
The number of applications is on the rise, according to the Norwegian
division of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which
processes the requests.
“Earlier this year, the number was an average of 100 per month. In
October, there were 150 and in November there were 230 applications,”
IOM spokesman Joost van der Aalst told NRK.
He said that the long family reunification times were a major factor,
but many people were also put off by having to live in remote areas
where they feel it is difficult to put their work experience to use.
You might remember another country where they wanted to pay migrants to leave, and might have even considered paying migrants who had been in the country for many years to leave. Of course, that country was blasted by its leftist media, by its own legislators, and by its Supreme Court, along with 'human rights watch' and other 'human rights' groups. Can you guess what country was blasted for trying to get illegal immigrants to leave? I knew you could....
You know what question I'm not hearing? Is the Jordanian response to terrorism "proportionate"? Only Israel gets that one.
— Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) February 7, 2015
Danish Ambassador to Israel Jesper Vahr tries to justify Europe's discriminatory treatment of Israel, and Caroline Glick rips him some new cavities.
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Sunlight).
I'd love to see Caroline in the Knesset, but I understand that she's not going to put up with the corruption it usually takes (fighting or joining) to get there in the current party system.
I received the following via email, unsourced. It's spot-on.
"Israel TV have been showing the massive destruction of hundreds of
homes by the Egyptians as they create a 500 meter buffer zone with Gaza
on their side of the ...border.
1165 families have been removed as their homes are destroyed.
Isn't
it strange that this is a yawn for the Western media. Not worth a
mention. No angry street demonstrations. No condemnation by UN human
rights organizations. No criticism by the Obama Administration. Nothing.
There's no Jewish state to blame and accuse of terrible crimes.
It
has to be said that the Egyptians were uncovering Hamas tunnels as they
cleared the area, which was part of the reason for the operation.
Egypt and Israel have a common cause in eliminating this joint Islamic threat, albeit Palestinian."
Here's a comment from Jeff Jacoby on Twitter.
To wipe out "terrorist hotbeds" in Gaza, army demolishes homes, expelling thousands of civilians. The EGYPTIAN army. http://t.co/3MqWIebNql
— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) October 30, 2014
What a double standard the 'international community' has adopted. What difference does it make?
Abbas called Jews visiting the Temple Mount (Judaism’s holiest place) a “herd of cattle,” with no right to visit or worship there. Jewish visits, he said, were a desecration that must be stopped “by any means.”
“Any means” turned out to include the murder of baby Chaya.
What’s most remarkable is the US silence on Abbas’ remarks. Neither
Secretary of State John Kerry nor any State Department spokesman
condemned Abbas’ words comparing Jews to cattle. Even the US embassy in
Israel failed to issue a statement.
If the Israeli prime minister called Muslims praying at their holy
places a “herd of cattle” to be removed “by any means,” Jewish groups
and the US government would rightly and swiftly denounce such vile
bigotry.
Yet four days passed from Abbas’ remarks to the Wednesday terror attack. Four days of silence that culminated in horror.
Not a single Arab leader rejected this dehumanization of Jews, or
protested the incendiary call to prevent Jewish visitation and worship
at the Temple Mount.
Nor did the American Task Force on Palestine, the pro-Palestinian
lobby in Washington, speak up, nor groups representing American Muslims,
Arabs or Palestinians. The “pro-peace” movement, including Americans
for Peace Now and J Street, raised no objection.
After Wednesday’s horror, the State Department finally woke up, condemning the act of
terrorism “in the strongest possible terms,” expressing “our deepest
condolences” and urging “all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating
tensions.”
But calls to “maintain calm” and “avoid escalating tensions” should
have come earlier, before condolences became necessary. They should have
come after the Palestinian president called Jews “cattle” and their
presence a desecration to be stopped “by any means.”
Such a statement may not have prevented the attack, but it would have
made clear that Palestinian incitement and violence against Israel and
Jews is unacceptable to the American people.
I'm not sure why Federman considers American silence in the four days leading up to the attack to be remarkable. Surely, after nearly six years of the Hussein Obama administration, no one should have expected anything else from the White House or the State Department (except maybe for them to pile on and back 'Abbas'). But he's right to call the administration out on that silence, and he's right to call out the supposed 'peace groups' - who couldn't even find it in themselves to issue a statement that 'Abbas' remarks are 'not helpful to the cause of peace' - for their silence as well.
Rep. Dov Hikind tees off on Obama's double standards for Israel
Dov Hikind is angry and he's not going to take it from the Obama administration anymore.
Let's go to the videotape.
By the way, the story about the second-guessing comment may be found here.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not deny a report that
he told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Ambassador to
Israel Dan Shapiro "not to ever second guess me again" on how to deal
with Hamas, though he said the report did not reflect the general "tone
and substance" of the calls.
"First let me make a
general statement about our relationship with the United States,"
Netanyahu said in English on Saturday evening when an American
journalist asked about the report from Matt Lee of the Associated Press.
"I think the United States has been terrific."
Netanyahu then praised
President Barack Obama's "unequivocal stand with Israel on our right to
defend ourselves" as well as the "untiring efforts" of Kerry. He also
called Shapiro "a great ambassador" and thanked Congress for passing an
additional $225 million to help Israel pay for its Iron Dome defense
system.
I can see Netanyahu saying that, and with good reason.
The politicians and the media continued to take sides for and against Defense Minister Moshe Boogie Yaalon's Charles Krauthammer imitation over the weekend. Add to that President Hussein Obama's temper tantrum insisting that Yaalon must explicitly apologize. To me, at least, the debate over Yaalon's comments reflect a double standard both as compared with US criticism of Israel, and as compared with how other allies have criticized the United States. This is from the next-to-last link.
How about when that openness and honesty is not Washington
criticizing Israeli policy, but rather Jerusalem passing judgment on
Washington’s policies? Then, as was evident again this week with
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s latest critique of American foreign policy, the US is far less forbearing.
For whatever the reason, the US cannot seem to tolerate words of criticism from Israel.
...
But this
time Ya’alon’s criticism was not personal at all. No mention of the
Nobel Prize or the messiah. It was, rather, a general critique of US
policies. It was also not stated in a high-profile public forum, but
rather in a private discussion that was leaked.
And what did he
say that was so egregious, that ignited the wrath of the administration
to such a degree that it trotted out an official to say that “given the
unprecedented commitment that this administration has made to Israel’s
security, we are mystified why the defense minister seems intent on
undermining the relationship?” On Iran, Ya’alon did not break any new
ground, criticizing the US for letting the Iranians off the ropes with
the current round of negotiations, and saying that Washington was being
out-negotiated by the Iranians. His line about the Iranians being
better negotiators in a Persian bazaar is one he has used often in the
past.
...
Where Ya’alon skated on thin ice was his comments about American military aid.
“The
aid must be put in proportion,” he said. “It is not really an American
favor, it’s an interest. It is not as if we only take, we also give not
a little,” he added, saying that Israel gives the US “quality
intelligence and technology.” Among the technological developments he
ticked off were the Iron Dome, the wings of the F-35 stealth fighter,
and the Arrow anti-ballistic missile – all Israeli inventions.
He said that with Israel, the US has an “aircraft carrier” in the Middle East which “begins in Metulla, and ends in Eilat.”
...
This week’s incident demonstrated again the administration’s very
thin skin when it comes to criticism from Israel. It seemed to go
beyond mere annoyance at Ya’alon’s comment about the aid. The defense
minister’s overall critique of the US policy seemed to step on a raw
nerve.
He gave voice to a trend many in the world are noticing:
Washington’s ability to bend the will of others to its desired goals is
diminishing.
But rather than getting furious at Ya’alon for
stating what for many is the obvious, the administration should consider
that if this is what a senior leader of one of its greatest friends in
the world is thinking – a friend that wants to see a powerful and
respected US – then what is going through the minds of those who do not
wish the US well.
The administration should also bear in mind
that Ya’alon is not some flaky, obscure minister who is easily
dismissed. According to a Channel 2 poll three weeks ago, taken on the
one-year anniversary of the government being sworn in, Ya’alon is the
most popular minister in the land. And that poll was taken after he
called Kerry messianic and obsessive.
Squeezing yet another
apology out of Ya’alon for hurt feelings risks ignoring his message –
and that message, even if clumsily delivered, is not one that should be
summarily dismissed, even if it is uncomfortable for some in
Washington to hear.
Let’s see. I would assume that most of us would agree that
the United States, in seeing its brave soldiers die to stop the Taliban
from taking over Afghanistan, not to mention spending a trillion-odd
dollars in the war there, has done a great deal more for Afghanistan
than Israel. Yet, here is President Hamid Karzai’s official
pronouncement about the United States, just this past January 17:
“As a result of bombardment by American forces last night …
in Siahgird district of Parwan province, one woman and seven children
were martyred and one civilian injured. The Afghan government has been
asking for a complete end to operations in Afghan villages for years,
but American forces acting against all mutual agreements … have once
again bombarded a residential area and killed civilians.”
This follows a pattern of Karzai of attacking American
troops—who have saved his country from Taliban Neanderthals—as killers,
rapists, marauders, etc. Just two days ago this wretched ingrate
actually had the temerity to say that in the 12 years NATO troops have
been in Afghanistan his country has gone backward. Yet, I have searched
in vein on Susan Rice’s Twitter feed for a condemnation of Karzai for
his absolutely disgusting remarks about our heroes in uniform.
Less so have I found a State Department spokesman
condemning the Afghan president as having no right to falsely accuse
American troops.
No, it seems that Israel alone is prevented from offering a dissenting opinion from the United States.
The State Department downplayed the appearance of mounting geopolitical friction between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia on Monday — a day after the former head of Saudi intelligence assailed the Obama administration’s shifting policies in the Middle East and accused Washington of waffling on Syria and Iran.
“The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have a long and close strategic partnership,” said Marie Harf, the State Department’s
deputy spokesman. “One of the hallmarks of a good partnership is the
ability to have quite frank conversations, even, maybe, when we
disagree about these very important issues.”
Her comments marked the second time in as many months that the Obama administration has sought to paper over tensions with Riyadh, and were in response to harsh words from Prince Turki al-Faisal.
Prince Turki lambasted the administration during a speech Sunday in Monaco
at the World Policy Conference, an annual event that brings together
officials and analysts from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
He accused President Obama of reneging on promises and asserted that Washington’s attempt to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians will be in vain if Mr. Obama does not set clear guidelines for the process — and sticks to them.
“We’ve
seen several red lines put forward by the president, which went along
and became pinkish as time grew, and eventually ended up completely
white,” Prince Turki said, according to a report by the New York Times. “When that kind of assurance comes from a leader of a country like the United States, we expect him to stand by it.
You don't think there's a double standard now, do you?
Which foreign country's phone calls are monitored by the NSA?
The NSA has built a system that is capable of monitoring 100% of one foreign country's phone calls. You don't think that country could be the Jooish state, do you?
The National Security Agency has built a surveillance system capable
of recording “100 percent” of a foreign country’s telephone calls,
enabling the agency to rewind and review conversations as long as a
month after they take place, according to people with direct knowledge
of the effort and documents supplied by former contractor Edward
Snowden.
A senior manager for the program compares it to a time machine —
one that can replay the voices from any call without requiring that a
person be identified in advance for surveillance.
The voice interception program, called MYSTIC, began in 2009. Its
RETRO tool, short for “retrospective retrieval,” and related projects
reached full capacity against the first target nation in 2011. Planning
documents two years later anticipated similar operations elsewhere.
In
the initial deployment, collection systems are recording “every single”
conversation nationwide, storing billions of them in a 30-day rolling
buffer that clears the oldest calls as new ones arrive, according to a
classified summary.
The call buffer opens a door “into the past,”
the summary says, enabling users to “retrieve audio of interest that
was not tasked at the time of the original call.” Analysts listen to
only a fraction of 1 percent of the calls, but the absolute numbers are
high. Each month, they send millions of voice clippings, or “cuts,” for
processing and long-term storage.
At the request of U.S.
officials, The Washington Post is withholding details that could be used
to identify the country where the system is being employed or other
countries where its use was envisioned.
And what does the White House have to say about this story? Let's go to the videotape.
Jonathan Pollard, who has been imprisoned in the United States for nearly 30 years for spying for Israel, was rushed to the hospital Wednesday night after his medical condition deteriorated.
Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard was hospitalized on Wednesday night after a deterioration of his medical condition.
Sources close to him hope to receive more information when it is morning in United States.
The long list of ailments that he has suffered from over the years
include diabetes, nausea, dizziness, blackouts and ongoing issues with
his gall bladder, kidneys, sinuses, eyes and feet. He also suffers from
Meniere’s disease, which causes him to lose consciousness and fall
without warning.
Sounds like the Americans really have to worry about him disclosing 30-year old secrets, doesn't it? /sarc.
Jonathan Pollard is being held hostage to be used as a bargaining chip for the 'peace process.' It's disgusting.
The second speaker in this video is MK Moshe Gafni, who heads the United Torah Judaism party, which is the party of the Ashkenazi (from western countries) Haredim.
Gafni complains that on the first day of Chanuka, a female IDF Colonel was recorded saying "I hate the Haredim. I hope they all die." The IDF spokesman said that the Colonel would be disciplined.
In the first speech, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon says that the Colonel, Nurit La'ami was reprimanded.
Gafni, who is American born, pointed out that when an IDF officer called an Ethiopian soldier a little n**er, he was suspended and sent to the brig. And when an officer called Arab demonstrators in Uhm al-Fahm Arab roaches, he was expelled from the police force. But when La'ami says all Haredim should die, she gets a promotion.
Let's go to the videotape.
And you wonder why Haredim don't want to go to the army?
Ben Dror Yemini on Richard Falk's lie about 'Palestinian' civilian casualties.
Let us gauge the genocide claim. In 2013, 36 Palestinians were
killed, according to the human rights organization B'Tselem. At least 30
of those were either involved in clashes with IDF soldiers or were
members of terrorist organizations. Only a few innocents were killed.
The death of each one of them is to be deeply regretted. Yet one should
add that there isn't another conflict in the world where the fatality
rate among civilians is as low as in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In other conflicts it is estimated that between 60 and 90 percent of
fatalities are innocents. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they are a
minority.
In fact, the annual fatality count in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is lower than a daily terror casualty toll in Iraq, Somalia,
Syria, Yemen, and other countries, where 1,153 people died as a result
of terror attacks. This does not include the daily toll from the
massacre perpetrated by the Syrian regime.
Most of the victims are Muslims killed by radical Islamists. In
Pakistan in the course of last year alone, 5,366 people were killed in
acts of terrorism. Almost 3,000 of them were civilians. In Iraq in 2013
alone, 8,868 were killed in terror acts, including 7,818 civilians. The
war on terrorism waged by coalition forces claimed between 227 and 300
thousand lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, most of them innocents.
Even if the number of casualties of Israeli operations was 10 or 20
times higher, this would still not constitute genocide. A broad
historical examination supports this view. Since 1967, less than 10,000
Palestinians have been killed. Most of them were terrorists. You can
call it many things, but genocide it ain't.
But in all the other conflicts, there is no Professor Falk hovering
in the background and spreading blood libel, no UN Human Rights Council
to pass countless resolutions, no rights organizations cranking out an
increasing number of hostile and biased publications, and no million
dollar subsidies from Europe to bankroll NGOs whose aim is to spin yarns
of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The only one being singled out is Israel, which kills less people
than any other party involved in a conflict, both in absolute and
relative terms. And it has to deal with organizations such as Islamic
Jihad and Hamas, which blatantly declares that its goal is the
destruction of Israel and the extermination of Jews and the killing of
Christians and communists "until the last remaining one."
Read the whole thing. It's even more amazing when you consider that in most other cases, civilians are not systematically placed in the line of fire by their leadership as the 'Palestinians' are.
Israel has refused to issue an official reaction to the revelations made public by The Guardian
on Friday regarding American and British surveillance of former prime
minister Ehud Olmert and ex-defense minister Ehud Barak in 2009.
Unnamed officials in Jerusalem, however, told Channel 2 on Friday
that they “did not fall off their chairs” when hearing the news, which
was first reported by The Guardian and The New York Times, that British and American intelligence agents were tracking the emails of Olmert and Barak.
The
British and American newspapers reported that the Government
Communications Headquarters, working in concert with the US National
Security Agency, kept track of electronic mail records belonging to
Olmert in addition to an email account used to send messages between
Barak and one of his top aides.
The Guardian and the Times
cited a top-secret document produced by the GCHQ in January 2009. It is
one of a slew of documents leaked by former NSA analyst Edward Snowden.
If the allegations are true, it would be the latest in a string of
embarrassments for Washington, which was caught conducting espionage on
allies like German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
...
According to The New York Times, which shared information revealed by Snowden with The Guardian as well as the prestigious Germany daily Der Spiegel, two Israeli embassies were also targeted for spying.
Olmert told The New York Times that the email which was hacked into just after Operation Cast Lead “was an unimpressive target.”
The former prime minister told the newspaper that the most sensitive
information that he shared with the Americans was revealed in private,
face-to-face conversations with then-president George W. Bush.
I wonder whether Ed Snowden would like to live in Israel.... In the meantime, Jonathan Pollard languishes in an American jail. The hypocrisy of it all....
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
