Israel wants Obama to free their spy.

[lothar]

Hum, the Wiki article contradicts itself, also saying "Amit is thought to have spied for the United States, though this has never been confirmed by the Israeli government." I wonder which one is the truth.

Why would the Israeli government investigate this when the guy has already admitted he did it, along with providing many details?
That would be a complete waste of tax dollars...The guy admitted he did it and turned himself in. Why would he choose to go to jail for free if he really didn't commit the crime? Why didn't he contest this in Israeli courts if he believed he was completely innocent?

BTW, Israel doesn't confirm or deny many reports...That is how they operate.
They have never confirmed or denied reports that they have nuclear weapons.
They never confirmed or denied reports that Jonathan Pollard was an Israeli spy until almost 2 decades later.

There are many things that they never confirm or deny.

 

[AnyMal]

Why would the Israeli government investigate this when the guy has already admitted he did it, along with providing many details?
That would be a complete waste of tax dollars...The guy admitted he did it and turned himself in. Why would he choose to go to jail for free if he really didn't commit the crime? Why didn't he contest this in Israeli courts if he believed he was completely innocent?

BTW, Israel doesn't confirm or deny many reports...That is how they operate.
They have never confirmed or denied reports that they have nuclear weapons.
They never confirmed or denied reports that Jonathan Pollard was an Israeli spy until almost 2 decades later.

There are many things that they never confirm or deny.

Israel will never confirm that they conduct spy operations in "friendly" countries because there are policy's that strictly prohibit them. That said, Mossad couldn't care less about these policies and conducted many operations in countries like USA, Great Britain. France, etc.. Jonathan Pollard is a prefect example of that; he was used by both Shin Bet and Mossad. If you want to learn more then I suggest books by Victor Ostrowski, former Mossad agent.

 

[SamurAchzar]

Israel will never confirm that they conduct spy operations in "friendly" countries because there are policy's that strictly prohibit them. That said, Mossad couldn't care less about these policies and conducted many operations in countries like USA, Great Britain. France, etc.. Jonathan Pollard is a prefect example of that; he was used by both Shin Bet and Mossad. If you want to learn more then I suggest books by Victor Ostrowski, former Mossad agent.

Pollard wasn't operated by the Mossad, he was operated by the Lakam.
Shin Bet only operates on domestic matters (FBI equivalent). And don't believe everything you read.

By the way, with Pollard, it was him who initiated the contact, Israel didn't recruit him.

 

[Red Dawn]

The United States could invade tomorrow and there is nothing anyone on earth could do to stop that.

Except us Americans

 

[Karl Agathon]

Jonathan Pollard shoud not be released.

 

[JS80]

Yitzhak Rabin couldn't get Clinton to pardon Jonathan Pollard. How the hell Netanyahu going to get Obama free Pollard the spy?

The liberal pussies released the lockerbie bomber, so Netanyahu probably thinks he has a shot.

 

[halik]

In addition to the article.

I like to ask the American Jewish community regarding their pledge of allegiance.

Do you consider yourself first as an American that with the Jewish believe (religion), or as a Jewish religious that is an American.

That said, I was born in Vietnam and I didn't have to pledge an allegiance to Canada (Canada doesn't have that assumption of requirement to become a citizen), however I consider that I'm first a Canadian, and a distant second as a Vietnamese.

IMHO, it is important associate oneself with the country that one currently reside in because it affects you from politic to economic in the present. While the other country that one may have a past/social/culture with is just purely part of history.

This, it would seem that the line between judaism and israel is a bit blurred in this country.

 

[iGas]

Israel will never confirm that they conduct spy operations in "friendly" countries because there are policy's that strictly prohibit them. That said, Mossad couldn't care less about these policies and conducted many operations in countries like USA, Great Britain. France, etc.. Jonathan Pollard is a prefect example of that; he was used by both Shin Bet and Mossad. If you want to learn more then I suggest books by Victor Ostrowski, former Mossad agent.

Which book do you recommend as the first book?

I have seen Lion of Judah floating around in my local book store before.

 

[kylebisme]

Why would the Israeli government investigate this when the guy has already admitted he did it, along with providing many details?

Best I can tell, Amit didn't actually said he was spying for us, hence the reason the Israeli government has never confirmed as much.

 

[Infohawk]

this thread is turning into a can of worms!!!

Everything in COW's world is connected to the British monarchy. He could turn a thread about pancakes into a thread about the royal family.

 

[AnyMal]

Pollard wasn't operated by the Mossad, he was operated by the Lakam.
Shin Bet only operates on domestic matters (FBI equivalent). And don't believe everything you read.

By the way, with Pollard, it was him who initiated the contact, Israel didn't recruit him.

It's been a while since I've read the books, so you're probably right and I have agencies mixed up. I do remember though that initially Pollard did indeed initiate the contact and gave up information voluntarly, out of "sense of duty" to Isreal. Mossad calls these types of agents "sayan" (sp?), Jewish nationals who help Israel without financial compensation and if they get caught Israel would remain in the clear since no money changed hands. He was later put in "conservation" by the military intelligence but was re-activated by retired Mossad agents who used his information for personal gains. Pollard was oblivious that he was used by profiteers until it was too late.

Which book do you recommend as the first book?

I have seen Lion of Judah floating around in my local book store before.

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Deception-...3461373&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Dec...3461773&sr=8-2

Both books are excellent read and I have no reason not to believe Ostrovsky considering the lengths Israel went in attempt to shut down the publication of these books.

 

[lothar]

Best I can tell, Amit didn't actually said he was spying for us, hence the reason the Israeli government has never confirmed as much.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=30968711&postcount=38

Well, it does say he made a "full" confession.
I would assume "full" means exactly that, not just saying "I betrayed my country" without specifying any details.

Shinbet Agent: Amit, we heard you were chatting with US intelligence officials, is that true?
Amit:..."Insert whatever response you want here".
Shinbet Agent: Can you explain what classified Military and Shin Bet documents are doing in your home?
Amit: I fully confess. I met with so, so, and so in Germany on xx/xx/xx at x:xxPM and every 2 weeks after the initial contact at the exact same time and location and also collected $15,000 during each visit.

If he didn't confess that he was spying "for" the US, so which country do you think he was spying for? He certainly was not spying "for" Israel.
Okay, so you're saying he could have been spying for another foreign country, it doesn't matter same result.
It doesn't matter if he was spying for UK, Russia, China, US, Syria or Saudi Arabia...He should still get the same treatment.

Since it's a fact that he was convicted of espionage in 1987 and sentenced to 15 years in prison(and he never filed an appeal with the Israeli courts or military to prove his innocence).
Possible conclusions:
a.) Israel didn't want to waste their tax dollars investigating a crime that happened after the accuser has "fully" confessed to doing what was already alleged.
b.) Israel silently confirmed he did it, but didn't want to release info or publicly comment because it was in their best interest not to do so. Ever heard the proverb "Don't bite the hand that feeds you"?

As we all know, Israel never comments on security matters so we're both speculating at this point, but I still say what happened is more closer to my scenario than yours.
They rarely ever bother to waste time confirming or denying reports.

 

[theeedude]

How about we release him over Israel with no parachute?