Running head: ISRAELI COLLECTION EFFORTS AGAINST THE U.S.
Are Israel Collection Efforts against the U.S. Undermining U.S.-Israel Relations?
Henry Torres
INTL443
Dr. Valerie Davis
May 27, 2019
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ISRAELI COLLECTION EFFORTS AGAINST THE U.S.
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Are Israel Collection Efforts against the U.S. Undermining U.S.-Israel Relations?
Since, the rise of the Cold War, the intelligence efforts and collaboration of the United States
and Israel has helped both countries to produce actionable intelligence for the sake of national
security (Kahana 2010). Ideally, the relationship between both countries’ governments is based
on a “favor” system. According to Katana (2010, 7), “the provision by the Mossad to the CIA of
high quality information was without doubt for quid pro quo purposes.” For example, for every
valuable vital piece of intelligence information Israel provides the United States, would mean the
United States will need to reciprocate the favor. Therefore, intelligence information provided by
the United States to Israel must be unequivocally reliable and dependable, and vice-versa.
However, for the sake of national security, the urgency of requiring vital intelligence
information, at times, has deemed it necessary for Israel’s intelligence organizations to collect
against the United States. Therefore, the writer will utilize peer reviewed and scholarly sources,
such as books and journals, in addition to, public sources, such websites and newspapers articles
to provide well thought out reasons, Israeli collection efforts against the U.S. are not
undermining US-Israel relations.
There are many reasons Israel has collected against the United States. First, what began as a
harmless “quid pro quo” exchange of intelligence information between the United States and
Israel, rapidly escalated into the breaching of foreign policies. The first example depicting Israel
collecting efforts against the United States, for the sake of national security, occurred days before
the Sixth Day War. Discussing MOSAD-CIA cooperation Kahana writes that:
on 2 June 1967, shortly before the Six-Day War started, the U.S. Sixth Fleet ship Liberty
sailed to eastern Mediterranean waters from Spain for electronic surveillance missions.
ISRAELI COLLECTION EFFORTS AGAINST THE U.S.
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AMAN suspected that this was the case. As a result, the Liberty was torpedoed by an
Israeli patrol boat in extra-territorial waters, fourteen miles off the north Sinai coast. (7)
Moreover, AMAN only collected against the U.S. for the sake of national security.
Unfortunately, the United States’ failure to collect against the Israeli without being noticed, cost
the lives of Thirty-four U.S. sailors and injured seventy-five (Kahana 2010). Clearly, the CIA
violated the tacit agreement with the Mossad, possibly jeopardizing future cooperation with
Israel’s intelligence organizations. However, Israel shook it off and moved forward.
Another example, demonstrating Israel collecting against US forces for the sake of national
security, was during the Reagan administration (Kahana 2010). Apparently, the United States’
intelligence agencies were not providing sufficient satellite information that allowed Israel to see
all of the Middle East. Therefore, LAKAM (Bureau of Scientific Liaison), another Israeli
intelligence organization, acquired the essential images of Iraq plus additional intelligence
information. According to Kahana (2010, 9), “Pollard had handed over satellite photographs
about specific targets in Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and their preparations for
achieving the non-conventional capabilities of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. He
also provided detailed photographs of the residences of the PLO leaders in Tunis.” However, the field
agent, Jonathan Pollard, was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison. Moreover, his capture
was a shock to the Reagan administration. Fortunately, for Israel, the Mossad convinced the CIA
of not having any involvement in the espionage committed by Jonathan Pollard. Thereby,
keeping the bond of U.S. and Israel exchange of intelligence information active.
Additionally, the United States has implemented sanctions and foreign policies that may
create implications to Israel. For example, the Palestinians
ISRAELI COLLECTION EFFORTS AGAINST THE U.S.
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issue in Israel. Years ago, the Clinton and Bush administration understood the IsraelPalestinian crisis, however, the Trump administration has considered to end the aid to the
Palestinians refugees by not funding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (Elgindy 2018).
According to Tharoor (2018, para 2), the Trump administration may “ease funding the U.N.
agency, which was launched in 1949 to provide for more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or
were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. Relying on volunteer donors - of which
Washington has been the largest.” Moreover, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has
provided food, clothes, and shelter for over seventy years (Tharoor 2018).
Additionally, the sanction imposed by the U.S. involving the Israel-Palestine conflict involves
Russia, China, and India (Rabkin 2013). According to Rabkin (2013, 21), “China, India and
Russia have provided aid to Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank, and there are several
projects afoot, such as the construction of a Jawaharlal Nehru school in Abu Dis, near
Jerusalem.” Therefore, U.S. policy toward the Palestinians should be of utmost concern on a
global scale. The prevention of Palestinians to return to their homeland can cause a major shift in
the Middle East. Furthermore, in the near future, U.S. policy may create extremist groups from
the depths of impoverished Palestinians to rise against Israel (Tharoor 2018).
Another sanction being imposed by the U.S. that may cause implications in the Israel-US
relations is the increase on tariff against China. In 2018, the U.S. raised tariffs on 250 billion
dollars of Chinese produces and Beijing raised tariffs on 110 billion dollars of U.S. goods.
Hence, the Trump administration may be involved in possibly the largest trade war in history
(BBC News 2019).
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What the Trump administration may not be focusing on, is the history China has with Israel.
According to Rabkin (2013, 13), “China and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1992,
somewhat later than the resumption of diplomatic ties between Israel and the USSR under
Gorbachev. However, important economic, military and technological ties had developed well
before 1992.” Presently, China’s relationship with Israel can exacerbate the U.S. in a couple of
ways. First, China can shift their sales from the U.S. market to Israel and other foreign countries.
Secondly, China may continue to raise tariff on U.S. products. In the end, Israel’s relationship
with China may cause implication as a result of U.S. foreign policies with China.
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References
BBC News. (2019). "A Quick Guide to the US-China Trade War."
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45899310.
Elgindy, Khaled. "Once Upon a Time, America Supported Palestinians." Foreign Policy. May 18,
2018. Accessed May 20, 2019. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/17/once-upon-a-timeamerica-supported-palestine/.
Kahana, Ephraim. (2010). Mossad-CIA Cooperation, International Journal of Intelligence and
CounterIntelligence, 14:3, 409-420, DOI: 10.1080/08850600152386873
Rabkin, Yakov M. (2013). “Russia, China and India and the Israel-Palestine Conflict.” Holy
Land Studies: A Multidisciplinary Journal (Edinburgh University Press) 12 (1): 9–24.
doi:10.3366/hls.2013.0057.
Tharoor, Ishaan. (2018). “Trump’s Anti-Palestinian Agenda Will Ultimately Hurt Israel.” The
Washington Post.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=edsgit&AN=ed
sgit.A552874539&site=eds-live&scope=site.
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