Everyone spies on everyone. It's a fact of life nowadays.
Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
91–100 of 195 posts
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
The New York Times identified Lambert as Aharon Almog-Assouline, a former Israeli security official living in the plush Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hasharon. Maybe not "spy" but ex-security official at least. Not sure how thinly that's splitting hairs though.
Ex security official is virtually every Israeli in a country with forced conscription at age 18. Also as an unrelated nit: Ramat Hasharon isn't a "plush suburb", it's where people without enough money to buy an apartment in Tel Aviv go live (Tel Aviv being "valley" expensive)
Ramat Hasharon is less expensive than TA, but kind of marginally so: https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/compare_cities.js... (Cf. with Ramat Gan, for instance: https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/compare_cities.js...)
Also people who live there identify it as a “plush suburb” themselves.
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#93I personally was approached by what I now believe was an undercover spy agent in San Francisco. I believe he might have been Israeli. How we got there is a long story. But, the person (agent) came to a coffee shop that I frequented and made himself very visible talking audibly about certain areas that were my interest. I'm a very outgoing person so after over-hearing him by the second or third encounter there, I appr…
It could definitely have been a "bump" (a manufactured 'accidental' introduction). If you work in a sensitive field, I'd definitely report it. If you hold a clearance, you should have already reported it.
I wouldn't spend much energy trying to second-guess who was ultimately behind the meeting. Especially if it is nefarious, often the initial contact is done with a cut-out or other intermediary and true affiliations are almost never disclosed initially (or perhaps ever).
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#94I personally was approached by what I now believe was an undercover spy agent in San Francisco. I believe he might have been Israeli. How we got there is a long story. But, the person (agent) came to a coffee shop that I frequented and made himself very visible talking audibly about certain areas that were my interest. I'm a very outgoing person so after over-hearing him by the second or third encounter there, I appr…
> Note, the source here might be a biased here That’s putting it mildly: I’m entirely aware that there’s a concerted campaign in the UK to smear Corbyn by fabricating a story from out-of-context quotes and, despite not being a fan of Corbyn, I’m entirely on board with the idea that he’s being unjustly targeted and probably isn’t actually antisemitic. But so far there’s no evidence that Israel is behind this effort. A…
One of the things that annoys me about this debate is that anti-semetic !== Anti Israel
I've no issue with the Jews (I don't actually know any) but specific things the Israeli government does sure I do.
Of course it's useful for people to conflate the two as they do with Corbyn or anyone who condemns Israel.
Frankly I've no dog in the fight, I think Israel and the Palestinian's are frequently in the wrong.
It's quite possible for there to be no 'good guy'.
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#95To clarify: NSO is a private company, mostly owned by US firm. The involvement of "Israel" in whatever NSO is doing is as follows: 1. As a vendor of security sensitive products, any NSO deal would be approved by Israel's MOD. 2. They naturally employ loads of secret service "graduates" because it's good for business. Consequently, calling an apparently clumsy NSO employee "an Israeli spy" comes across as kind of fake…
I’m not sure why this is downvoted - this is absolutely true. NSO is a private company who is US owned and at odds with the Israeli government often. As an Israeli I’m pretty confident Israel would not send spies in order to do things related to NSO’s private business. If anything - these are US spies and not Israeli ones. It just doesn’t make sense for Israel to do this. Not that Israel doesn’t do shabby spywork or…
> I’m not sure why this is downvoted
probably because of this:
> comes across as kind of fake news.
I have lots of Israeli cousins and see their Facebook posts. I think maybe there's not widespread awareness over there how far apart we are on this.
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's partly why this is such an effective tactic for Israeli (government or private) intelligence. The presence, or mere accusation, of anti-Israeli government sentiment can be pretty easily spun into accusations of anti-Israeli and/or anti-Semitic beliefs. So it can kind of create a chilling effect on these discussions in general, like in this comment sub-thread. There are so many outlandish conspiracy theories ou…
The difference between criticism of the Israeli government and Antisemitism is the simplification of the problem and putting the blame solely on the Israelis without making an effort. "Apartheid state" doesn't make it better, either.
If you can convincingly support how misguided "Apartheid state" is then yes, I would agree. Unfortunately Israeli policy does seem to support the definition.
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#97I personally was approached by what I now believe was an undercover spy agent in San Francisco. I believe he might have been Israeli. How we got there is a long story. But, the person (agent) came to a coffee shop that I frequented and made himself very visible talking audibly about certain areas that were my interest. I'm a very outgoing person so after over-hearing him by the second or third encounter there, I appr…
The spy vs spy comic strip gave us some early lessons on how deep these deceptions can go. Double and triple agents, even people creating anonymous accounts online to put forth whatever unfounded and creative stories they wish about anyone they choose.
Reputation is everything.
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Note, the source here might be a biased here That’s putting it mildly: I’m entirely aware that there’s a concerted campaign in the UK to smear Corbyn by fabricating a story from out-of-context quotes and, despite not being a fan of Corbyn, I’m entirely on board with the idea that he’s being unjustly targeted and probably isn’t actually antisemitic. But so far there’s no evidence that Israel is behind this effort. A…
One of the things that annoys me about this debate is that anti-semetic !== Anti Israel I've no issue with the Jews (I don't actually know any) but specific things the Israeli government does sure I do. Of course it's useful for people to conflate the two as they do with Corbyn or anyone who condemns Israel. Frankly I've no dog in the fight, I think Israel and the Palestinian's are frequently in the wrong. It's quite…
Is "the jews" considered offensive? If someone were to say "the blacks" I would automatically suspect them of racist tendencies.
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's partly why this is such an effective tactic for Israeli (government or private) intelligence. The presence, or mere accusation, of anti-Israeli government sentiment can be pretty easily spun into accusations of anti-Israeli and/or anti-Semitic beliefs. So it can kind of create a chilling effect on these discussions in general, like in this comment sub-thread. There are so many outlandish conspiracy theories ou…
The difference between criticism of the Israeli government and Antisemitism is the simplification of the problem and putting the blame solely on the Israelis without making an effort. "Apartheid state" doesn't make it better, either.
>The difference between criticism of the Israeli government and Antisemitism is the simplification of the problem and putting the blame solely on the Israelis without making an effort.
Actually antisemitism is being against Jews, and criticism of the israeli government is about particular political and military actions of a certain set of people and a certain state.
If one doesn't have a problem with e.g. Brooklyn jews, then they are not antisemites, no matter how much they disagree with Israel (which they might even believe has no right to exist).
Re: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was one of many
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Israel has a draft. Most people are veterans.
What I find odd is that their staffers may join the company, and leave for the military/intelligence agency again after less than a year, and like that few times over. That's not how anybody's career can work. And nobody in his sane mind will accept severe demotion on rejoining the service, nor will choose a very different branch of service. A diplomatic security corps officer, will not be making a good sailor. Those…
>What I find odd is that their staffers may join the company, and leave for the military/intelligence agency again after less than a year
What is the source for this?