American accused of spying for Israel
NEW YORK (AP) - April 22, 2008 Ben-ami Kadish was charged in U.S. District Court in Manhattan
with four counts of conspiracy, including allegations that he
disclosed U.S. national defense documents to Israel and acted as an
agent of the Israeli government.
Prosecutors say Kadish, a U.S. citizen who worked at an Army
base in New Jersey, took home classified documents for six years
and let the Israeli photograph them in his basement. Those
documents included information about nuclear weapons, a modified
version of an F-15 fighter jet, and the U.S. Patriot missile air
defense system.
Bruce Goldstein, a lawyer for Kadish, had no immediate comment.
Calls requesting comment from the Israeli consulate in the U.S.
were referred to Jerusalem, where Israeli foreign ministry
spokesman Arye Mekel said: "We know nothing about it. We have
nothing to say."
A criminal complaint said Kadish confessed to FBI agents on
Sunday that he had given the Israeli between 50 and 100 classified
documents and accepted no cash in return, only small gifts and
occasional dinners for him and his family.
Kadish worked at the Armament Research, Development and
Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J. On
numerous occasions between 1979 and 1985, the agent provided Kadish
with lists of U.S. national defense classified documents he was
interested in, according to the complaint. Kadish worked at the
base from 1963 through 1990.
The complaint described a close relationship between the two men
that continued beyond 1985, and included telephone and e-mail
conversations exchanged as recently as Sunday.
The unidentified agent was described in the complaint as a
one-time employee of Israeli Aircraft Industries, which since at
least the late 1970s has been a defense manufacturing contractor
for the Israeli government. The company is now known as Israeli
Aerospace Industries.
From July 1980 through November 1985, the agent worked for the
Israeli government as the consul for science affairs at the Israeli
consulate in Manhattan.
The two men were introduced by Kadish's brother, who at one time
worked with the agent at the manufacturing plant in Israel.
The research center where Kadish worked on the Army base housed
a library of documents, including many with classified information
related to U.S. national defense. From 1979 through 1985, Kadish
signed out at least 35 classified documents, according to the
complaint.
Kadish told the FBI that he knew that one restricted document he
provided to the agent included atomic-related information and that
he did not have the required clearance to borrow it, according to
the complaint.
Prosecutors say the Israeli called Kadish on March 20 and told
him to lie to federal law enforcement agents who were investigating
possible espionage.
"Don't say anything. Let them say whatever they want. You
didn't ... do anything. ... What happened 25 years ago? You didn't
remember anything," the man allegedly told Kadish in Hebrew.
In addition to the spying counts, Kadish is charged with
conspiring to hinder a communication with, and to make a materially
false statement to, a law enforcement officer. Those charges stem
from the March conversation.
The Israeli worker left the United States in November 1985 and
has not returned, according to the complaint, which described him
as the same Israeli to whom Pollard provided classified
information.
Pollard, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S.
Navy, pleaded guilty to transferring military secrets to Israel
while working at the Pentagon. He is serving a life sentence in a
U.S. federal prison.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, provides about $2.2
billion a year in military assistance. In the last few years, the
two nations have conducted tests to integrate the Israeli-made
Arrow anti-ballistic missiles with the Patriot system to create a
multilayered air defense system.
The U.S. deployed Patriot batteries in Israel in 1991, when Iraq
fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel during the first Gulf war. The
Arrow was jointly developed by Israel Aircraft Industries and
Chicago-based Boeing Co. at a cost of more than $1 billion after
the Patriots' failed to intercept many of the incoming Scuds. Some
reports said Patriots missed them all.