Posted on 04/22/2008 12:07:37 PM PDT by anymouse
U.S. authorities arrested an American engineer on Tuesday on suspicion of giving secrets on nuclear weapons, fighter jets and air defense missiles to Israel during the 1980s, the Justice Department said.
Ben-Ami Kadish, 84, acknowledged his spying in FBI interviews and said he acted out of a belief that he was helping Israel, court papers said.
He was accused of reporting to an Israeli government handler who also dealt with Jonathan Jay Pollard, an American citizen serving a life term on a 1985 charge of spying for Israel.
Kadish's arrest is a sign the Pollard scandal, which remains an irritant in the close U.S. alliance with Israel, may have spread wider than was previously acknowledged. Kadish was arrested in New Jersey and was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon at U.S. District Court in New York City, authorities said.
"We will be informing the Israelis of this action," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. "Twenty-plus years ago during the Pollard case we noted that this was not the kind of behavior we would expect from friends and allies and that would remain the case today."
Kadish's lawyer, Bruce Goldstein, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel, asked about the arrest, said: "We know nothing about it. We heard it from the media."
Pollard pleaded guilty in 1986. Israel granted him citizenship in 1996 and acknowledged in 1998 that the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst was one of its spies. Israel has unsuccessfully sought Pollard's release.
Kadish is a Connecticut-born U.S. citizen who worked as a mechanical engineer at the U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, New Jersey.
His spying lasted roughly from 1979 to 1985, and his contact with the unnamed Israeli handler continued until March of this year, the federal complaint against him said.
The complaint said Kadish did not appear to receive any money in exchange for his suspected spying, just small gifts and restaurant meals.
Kadish, who had a security clearance, took 50 to 100 classified documents from the arsenal's library, working from a list provided by the handler identified in a federal complaint as "CC-1." The handler would then photograph the documents in Kadish's basement and Kadish would return them to the library, the complaint said.
It said one of the classified documents passed on by Kadish "contained information concerning nuclear weaponry." Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but has never acknowledged it.
Another document obtained by Kadish related to "a major weapons system ... a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet that the United States had sold to another foreign country," the complaint said. It did not identify the country.
A third document contained information regarding the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system.
The complaint said Kadish maintained contact with CC-1, met him in Israel in 2004, and spoke with him by telephone on March 20 of this year, after his first FBI interview. It said the handler told him to lie to U.S. authorities: "Don't say anything ... What happened 25 years ago? You don't remember anything," the handler was quoted as saying.
The complaint said the handler worked for the Israeli government as consul for science affairs at the Israeli Consulate General in New York, from 1980 to November 1985.
During the late 1970s the handler worked for what was known at the time as Israeli Aircraft Industries, an Israeli government contractor, the complaint said. It said the handler left the United States when Pollard was arrested and has not returned.
The history appears to fit with that of Yosef Yagur, who has been publicly linked to the Pollard case. A woman who identified herself as Yagur's wife, when reached by telephone, said, "We're not speaking to journalists. Goodbye."
(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Christine Kearney in New York and Dan Williams in Jerusalem
Leaked to let Israel know that we ain’t gonna pardon the traitorous scumbag named Pollard...
Timing is everything.
Notice what details that are provided vs. what Iran should be scared about.
Israeli F-15s took out the Iraqi and Syrian nuke facilities with conventional weapons while effectively slipping through Russian-provided air defenses. Iran should be rightly concerned that Israel would not hesitate to arm the F-15s with tactical nukes, in order to take out Iran’s nuke facilities. An 84 yr old Jew just enabled the U.S. and Israel to send Iran a potent message - don’t even think about it.
Samething happened with China with those “miss-shipped” nuke fuses sent to Tiawan.
The timing of this is very strange. Prosecuting an 84 year old man 23 years after the crime was committed? They had no idea of this for the last 23 years?
No kidding. I never believed those triggers were "miss-shipped".
I also believe that both Taiwan and Saudia Arabia have nukes.
and I’m not really sure about those unaccounted-for nukes that took a ride or two across country recently.
I didn’t know anything about that.
But I would be very pleased if Taiwan had nukes; of all countries (besides Israel), it needs them (and about 20 different delivery systems).
Taiwan at least gets to deal with rational enemies.
20+ years ago? What’s the statute of limitations on espionage? It isn’t “treason” because it wasn’t aid to a foreign government “we were at war with”.
I am against espionage and know that our allies are not always our friends. Just curious why this prosecution can continue but Jane Fonda is still walking freely.
I felt the same way about the “joyride” Too many people involved, and too many security checks involved to screw up as badly as claimed. I think it was an intentional message.
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Long time, wonder where this information has been buried, and why it came up now.
It the 84 year old traitor dies in prison, don't whine to me, he's had many years of undeserved freedom, a betrayal of those with whom he served.
Presuming he's guilty, of course, I suspect he is.
The Israelis took US nuclear secrets and gave them to the Soviets in exchange for Russians jews.
I am a big friend of Israel, but this unacceptable behavior from a friend.
He’s got 7 1/2 years to go.
JONATHAN JAY POLLARD 09185-016 53 White M 11-21-2015 BUTNER MED I FCI
As for the Israelis who call for Pollard's release, they are either trying to sabotage US-Israeli relations, or they are proof taht not all Jews are intelligent.
Let’s see. The policy of our leaders is against Israel having nukes but has long been actively involved in making sure that China, North Korea, Iran, Sudan and nations like that have nukes through student exchange, employment and trade policies.
Gotcha. No vote, and no respect for you all. [Spit]
I heard this from the G Gordon Liddy.
Only when the espionage is on behalf of an enemy of the United States. Israel does not fit that category.
Please read the definition of "treason" - which for good reason is the only crime defined in the Constitution.
Though espionage on behalf of an ally is a crime, it should not be punished anywhere near as harshly as espionage on behalf of an an enemy.
ping.
How severely would you punish espionage, stealing our national secrets, and giving them to a country we’re not at war with?
A stern letter? Something in your permanent record?
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