AmNote on Israeli Economic Espionage: A Culture of Sneak Thieves and Liars Israel recruits American Jews as spies not only for military espionage, but industrial espionage for product development in Israel. Israelis pirate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of American products each year, including software, videos, CDs, and other merchandise. When the Hollywood Jews can't stand the thievery of the Israeli Jews anymore, you know it must be really bad!
Jews do not care about America. The only stake Jews have in this country is what they can milk from it for themselves and for Israel. Many of American's domestic and foreign policies are not drive by what is best for the U.S., but what is best for Israel. Since Jew piracy generates money for Israel and supports its military aggression in the Middle East, the piracy is overlooked and is viewed by the U.S. as a form of foreign aid to Israel, even though it weakens the economy of the U.S. It's like the hands-off policy the U.S. has towards opium production in Turkey, even though the opium feeds the drug problem in American; if the U.S. shut it down, Turkey would be thrown into an economic panic, as well as those international banks that have lent Turkey money. Israeli attempts to stop the piracy are only shams. Eighty percent of all audiocassettes and 60% of all videocassettes sold in Israel are pirated. But, the selling of pirated material goes far beyond the borders of Isreal. The money reaped from pirated items is just too big for the Jews to give up. And so, the Jew pirates have just moved their operations into the occupied areas in the West Bank and Gaza, and continue manufacture with the help and blessings of Israeli government officials.
It is amazing that after Pollard was caught spying for the Israeli government, Israel had the nerve to ask the U.S. to increase its foreign aid to $ 3.5 billion. The arrogance of the Jew is immeasurable, except in U.S. dollars. Maybe worst is the fact that the Israeli government is reluctant do to anything about the pirating of American goods. Why should they when America's technology and products are Israel's cash cow. It took the strongest possible threats from the United States to get Israel even to concede that there was a piracy problem there. And still nothing has really been done by the Israeli government to stop the piracy, except by outsiders, like Business Software Alliance, that conducted a raid in Israel. Worst still is it took the collective pressure of American industry to get the U.S. Government to do something about the economic espionage that threatens the stability of Americans. What is going on? Congressional traitors, like Arlen Specter, Joe Lieberman, and others, have blocked government efforts to rectify the Israeli piracy problem. Are Jews more important than American? It seems so! What do U.S. laws mean to Jews, since, like other conventions of society that have no meaning for Jews, Jews live under "Jewish Law", which means Jews are entitled to do any rotten thing they want because they're Jews. Call a Jew a sneak thief and a liar to his face, and he'll go behind your back and tell lies to ruin you!
 Counterfeit Culture —The Jerusalem Post
Nike T-shirts, a Boaz Sharabi disc or a computer game. The shoppers know that none of the products are authentic, but nobody seems to care. And it's that penchant for flouting the law - which bans the sale of counterfeit merchandise - added to an almost uncontrollable Israeli need to find the best buy, that has put Israel on the priority watch-list targeting copyright piracy offenders that is put out every April by the US Trade Representative. The rating lit a warning light for MKs Nahoum Langental (National Religious Party) and Eli Ben-Menahem (One Israel) in the fight against intellectual property piracy. They initiated a tour of the markets to see the piracy firsthand. At the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, bargain merchandise is piled in stall after stall. As Langental sifted through the clothes, asking if anything was the real McCoy, he wasn't drawing many votes. "What if my son wanted to buy himself a Nike T-shirt or a pair of sneakers and he came here to buy, only to find out it wasn't the real thing?" asks Langental. A stall owner answers: "This is the way it is everywhere, I tell them it isn't real." A bystander shouts out: "She's just buying and selling, what do you want from her?" Devora, another shopper standing nearby, adds: "I buy here and I am satisfied. I can't buy the real Nike because it is too expensive, so I am happy with this." Other merchants pounce on Devora's comments as justification for selling counterfeit; in fact, they call it a public service. "You see, these people have no choice. Their son comes home (from school) and he wants a brand name. They can't pay NIS 600 for a shirt, they have eight kids at home. We don't say it's the original," says a merchant who identifies himself as Shlomo. "I'll tell you what the problem is," adds another merchant, Moshe. "Twenty years ago there was a school uniform. Now the elite go to school in the nicest shirts and the poor come with shirts they are ashamed to wear. We are here for the underdog. In north Tel Aviv everyone wears pants they bought for NIS 350 with a shirt they bought for NIS 400, while those from south Tel Aviv, can they buy a shirt for NIS 300?". [click here to continue]
U.S. In Conflict With Israel On Piracy Issue —Los Angeles Times
Goaded by complaints from U.S. movie and software producers, the Clinton administration is moving toward a confrontation with Israel over widespread piracy of American films and compact discs, U.S. officials said Friday. The office of U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky may impose trade sanctions against Israel when it issues its annual report on global protection of intellectual property rights in late April, the officials said. For years, Washington has been fighting an off-and-on trade war with China over pirated videotapes, music CDs and computer software, along with other violations of copyrights. But a similar conflict with Israel--the foreign nation with perhaps the most clout on Capitol Hill--could spark a far greater controversy in Washington. "U.S. industry has stepped forward with very strong assertions of ongoing and even accelerating intellectual property rights violations in Israel," a Barshefsky aide said. "We will assess all of the information and continue our contacts with the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority over the next month." A State Department official said videotape and CD piracy in Israel is "reaching epidemic proportions." Twice in the last two years, the official noted, the Israeli Knesset has weakened an already feeble copyright law. Moreover, he said, the laws that are on the books are not enforced. The possibility of trade sanctions was first raised publicly earlier this month in a speech by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Edward Walker. He warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government that "Israel's fundamental interest must be protecting intellectual property rights." Over the years, the U.S. government has found it difficult to play political hardball with Israel, even when Jerusalem's policy runs directly counter to U.S. efforts in the Middle East. Israeli governments traditionally call on their supporters in Congress to blunt administration policies that they dislike. [click here to continue]
Israel Faces Sanctions If CD Piracy Continues —The Christian Science Monitor
It's just past 5:30 p.m, and shoppers are coursing through Tel Aviv's largest open-air market. Windows 98? Got it. Ricky Martin's latest compact disc? No problem. The shekels are changing hands at a brisk pace - until Yaakov Manor arrives. His presence is a reminder that much of the profit being turned here is against international law. Mr. Manor is waving a court-issued seizure order, but an agitated salesman at the Maxim music stall refuses even to look at it. It's not the first time - more like the six or seventh - that investigators have confiscated hundreds of his compact discs, illegally produced in counterfeiting outlets in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "Take it and go," the salesman scowls, as Manor briskly piles stacks of CDs into a cardboard box. The quicker the raid, the less painful for business. Five off-duty policemen and detectives stand guard as Manor works. Illegal copies are not a high priority for Israeli police. So, Manor and the cops are hired by Israel's branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a record business coalition. United States trade authorities are leaning on Israel to clean up this kind of piracy. The US placed Israel on a "priority list" of 16 countries with poor levels of enforcement of copyright laws. The US provides $ 3 billion in aid annually to Israel, and piracy hits US companies hardest. If it shows no progress in getting up to the World Trade Organization's standards, when US officials return for a special inspection in December, Israel could face trade sanctions of more than $ 170 million - an estimate of just the software losses last year. [click here to continue]
Israel Calling A Halt To Software Piracy —The Boston Globe
Ask an Israeli how to say "intellectual property theft," and you'll probably be met with a blank stare. Hebrew has no word for the illegal appropriation of ideas, and the lack of recognition itself may contribute to the high rate of piracy in Israel. Software, CDs, video cassettes - none of them are sacred. More than half of Israeli businesses use pirated software, according to the Business Software Alliance, a US-based organization that tracks piracy. Last year, the proliferation of counterfeit CD manufacturing plants deprived music distributors of $ 67 million from Israel. But the loss to software companies, estimated at $ 57 million, is what most irks American business. The loss in revenue prompted a US trade representative, Charlene Barshefsky, to issue a harshly worded statement in May denouncing "the absence of serious attempts by Israel to rein in piracy of intellectual property." The United States also placed Israel on its Priority Watch List, which gives the country a year to improve its record or risk facing trade sanctions. Although Israel is not the worst offender - Vietnam tops the list with virtually all of its software pirated - its close relationship with the United States has brought its infractions under intensive American scrutiny. "We are both highly inventive countries," said Ned Walker, US ambassador to Israel, urging Israeli business leaders to rein in piracy. "Ideas and inventions are a component of national strength, and that strength deserves defending through laws capable of providing adequate defense." But it is easier said than done. [click here to continue]
Efforts Under Way To Avert US Sanctions —The Jerusalem Post
A white sedan pulls up in front of an apartment block in the middle of Bnei Brak. Five plainclothes policemen get out, followed by a sixth on a motorcycle. The target: A home-based plant for producing counterfeit CDs. The scene of the alleged crime has been identified by a detective hired by the Israeli branch of the International Federation of the Phonografi Industry (IFPI) - a sort of international record-company union that represents the interests of recording artists. The raid is an indication the government is starting to crack down on software and compact disc piracy, over which the US is threatening trade sanctions. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin is travelling to Washington this week in an attempt to ward off possible sanctions and is scheduled to meet US Attorney General Janet Reno. US Ambassador Edward Walker last night reportedly presented Beilin with a Justice Department report that defines Israel as the Western world's top copyright violator. Walker reportedly told Beilin the US will impose sanctions as soon as December if Israel does not act. Another report by the International Intellectual Property Association says piracy of sound recordings, video games, and computer programs is rampant here. A staggering 80 percent of all audiocassettes and 60% of all videocassettes sold here are pirated. They're sold in open-air markets and shops throughout the country, made on the cheap by manufacturers who pay no royalties. [click here to continue]
Espionage Now Takes Aim At Industrial Targets —St. Petersburg Times
If most Americans thought the end of the Cold War meant an end to spying they should think again. Industrial espionage against the United States by its friends and allies is on the rise. John Davitt, the former director of internal security at the Justice Department, says our allies are increasingly using spy methods "every bit as sophisticated as those of the KGB in order to gain access to American high-tech secrets."Among the countries most often cited by U.S. intelligence agencies as seeking technological and financial secrets are France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Israel. Pierre Marion, the former director of French intelligence, told me this year that in 1981 at the request of President Francois Mitterrand he established a branch to spy on U.S. high-technology companies. The branch still exists. In April, Ronald Hoffman, a rocket scientist in California, was sent to prison for selling Strategic Defense Initiative and rocketry technology to four Japanese companies for more than $ 700,000 between 1986 and 1990. The four companies, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ishiawaji-Harima and Toshiba, have pledged to capture 20 percent of the aerospace market by the year 2000. During the summer of 1991 IBM accused the German intelligence service of eavesdropping on its telecommunications and passing stolen information to German companies. IBM lost several important bids in Europe around this time, possibly because of inside knowledge obtained by its German competitors. Last year an Illinois-based aeronautics company, Recon Optical, accused the Israeli Air Force of espionage. An independent arbitration board in New York sided with Recon and the Israeli government quietly agreed to pay the company for damages. [click here to continue]
The Pollard Affair And American Jews —Los Angeles Times
The Pollard spy scandal has played itself out as a tragedy in three acts: stupidity, arrogance and cover-up. When information about Israeli spying against the United States first came to light, it was seen as unbelievably stupid. It was difficult to imagine what conceivable gain would justify jeopardizing the massive economic and military support that Israel receives from the United States. Ironically, the stupidity and recklessness lent credence to the claim of Israel's leaders that it was a "rogue operation" that they knew nothing about. Then came Act 2, as we watched in disbelief the rewarding of those responsible for what Israel had insisted was an illicit operation. Nothing but arrogance could account for what appeared as Israeli nose-thumbing at America's sense of a friendship betrayed. One of the spymasters received a fat job as the head of a major government enterprise; the other was promoted to the commander of Israel's second-largest air force base. Since in the real world rogues are punished, not rewarded, the promotions gave rise to the suspicion that Israeli officials may have been guilty of deceit in denying knowledge of the operation. The life sentence imposed by a U.S. court on Jonathan Jay Pollard raised the curtain on Act 3. That sentence triggered a wave of seemingly spontaneous outrage at the Israeli action on the part of the Israeli press and public and American Jewish leaders, who demanded a long-overdue accounting from Israel's political Establishment. (In the crunch it is always the Israeli public, the press and the judiciary that emerge to vindicate Israel's reputation as one of the world's most vigorous and irrepressible democracies.) At first Israel's cabinet stonewalled these demands, but then partly capitulated and appointed an investigating committee without real teeth. [click here to continue]
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