New documents presented in federal court in Washington, D.C. reveal deep ties (more than was known) between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Dr. Stewart David Nozette, an American astronomer accused of spying for Israel.
.....Two attorneys in the counterespionage unit of the U.S. Department's of Justice National Security division, Deborah Curtis and Heather Schmidt, presented documents found on the scientist's computer. One document, titled "Proposed Operations for 2005-2006," referred to the need to carry out "a penetration of NASA," the U.S. space agency.
Another document, according to the prosecution, shows Nozette attempted to obtain highly confidential material by using his high-level security clearance and infiltrating other people's computers.
Other documents mention the names of Yossi Weiss and Yossi Fishman. Weiss is a former project manager and today the deputy CEO of IAI and head of the company's missile and space division. Fishman was the IAI's representative in the U.S. and is today the CEO of ODF Optronics.
Fishman told Haaretz he knew Nozette the way he knew other Americans employed by the IAI at the time as consultants. "We did not engage in any kind of spying activity or information gathering, perish the thought. The relationship was business as usual.".......
...The indictment and the documents indicate that Nozette was employed for nine years as an IAI consultant. Versions vary as to how much he was paid, from $170,000 to $225,000.....
The FBI searched Nozette's home and computer and found additional proof of his connection to Israel. He visited here several times, but did not report this - as is required by his high security clearance...
Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was arrested after FBI surveillance that included wiretapping and undercover photography. The operation followed the former astronomer's interrogation on suspicion of tax evasion and defrauding the U.S. government. Nozette worked out plea bargain with the Justice Department; he admitted to fraud and accepted a sentence of up to three years in jail, plus a fine of $265,000. His jail term would have started in November, but he was arrested on the new and more serious charge of espionage.
Nozette, who was born in Chicago, has Jewish parents but there is no evidence he ever went to synagogue or Jewish community centers. His neighbors said he was "a Zionist" but without evidence attesting to this....
...... the IAI and its subsidiaries in the U.S. continue to do business there and to cultivate ties. It is rather clear to them, and this is indeed fairly routine business practice, that to obtain contracts and win grants from the U.S. administration, doors must be opened. For that, people with connections are needed to open those doors. This was one of Nozette's assignments. Against this backdrop he apparently tried (among other things) to help the "penetration" of NASA. IAI, which produces space missile launchers, satellites and other space technologies, hoped to win contracts and development grants and enter joint ventures.
..........The indictment does not mention Israel nor has the administration made any complaints. Nevertheless Israel since its establishment systematically conducted spying missions on U.S. soil - for around a quarter of a century. Primarily, it was nuclear and technological-military spying.... Full story
Israel Continues To Spy on Its Biggest Ally, Another Israeli Spy Arrested by FBI
..... The case is one of many cases in which Israel was caught trying to spy on its biggest ally and supporter, the United States of America.
In 1985, the United States arrested Jonathan Pollard, who worked as a civilian intelligence analyst, and sentenced him for a life imprisonment in 1987.
Pollard was born in Galveston, Texas on August 7, 1954. He was granted Israeli citizenship by the Israeli government in 1995. Several Israeli groups, including senior officials, such as the current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have lobbied for his release.
His case is connected to another Israeli spy Ben-Ami Kadish, a U.S national who confessed and pleaded guilty of passing classified information to Israel.
Israel denied Pollard is a spy for fourteen years, but in 1997, Pollard filed a legal action at the Israeli High Court of Justice to force the Israeli government to admit he was an agent for Israel recruited to spy in the USA.
On May 11, 1997, Netanyahu officially admitted that Pollard is an officially sanctioned agent handled by senior Israeli officials working for Israel’s Bureau of Scientific Relations.
The United States grants Israel billions of dollars in direct and indirect financial and military aid, in addition to millions of dollars sent by Jewish and American groups...... Full story
In 1985, the United States arrested Jonathan Pollard, who worked as a civilian intelligence analyst, and sentenced him for a life imprisonment in 1987.
Pollard was born in Galveston, Texas on August 7, 1954. He was granted Israeli citizenship by the Israeli government in 1995. Several Israeli groups, including senior officials, such as the current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have lobbied for his release.
His case is connected to another Israeli spy Ben-Ami Kadish, a U.S national who confessed and pleaded guilty of passing classified information to Israel.
Israel denied Pollard is a spy for fourteen years, but in 1997, Pollard filed a legal action at the Israeli High Court of Justice to force the Israeli government to admit he was an agent for Israel recruited to spy in the USA.
On May 11, 1997, Netanyahu officially admitted that Pollard is an officially sanctioned agent handled by senior Israeli officials working for Israel’s Bureau of Scientific Relations.
The United States grants Israel billions of dollars in direct and indirect financial and military aid, in addition to millions of dollars sent by Jewish and American groups...... Full story
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