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Israel has been a longtime ally of the United States. Their unique situation being right in

the Middle East surrounded by nations that desire their destruction puts them in a very precarious

position. It should come as no surprise that Israel actively spy against the United States. It is not

uncommon for allies to spy amongst each other since there is always a degree of distrust between

nations. Not only that, every state is looking for a possible advantage over the other. Israel has

survived throughout the years for several reasons. One being the support that the U.S. provides

militarily, and two they have an aggressive intelligence collection plan that has enabled them to

fend off potential threats for years. This is highlighted by the information provided by Jay

Pollard. Despite the amount of aid the U.S. provides Israel, there will always be more to offer.

Israel¶s very existence may very well depend on them collecting information from their allies.

Does this call into question Israel¶s trustworthiness? Yes, there is no doubt it does. The idea that

Israel had prior information concerning the 9/11 attacks certainly warrants a look into their

trustworthiness

The most disturbing information about Israel¶s spying against the United States is the fact

that they possibly uncovered information concerning the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but they did not

warn the U.S. (Cameron, 2001). Information sharing goes both ways between allies. If Israel had

any relevant information concerning an attack against the U.S., they should have provided it

immediately. This causes the most concern as to the trustworthiness of Israel. On the other hand,

Jay Pollard stated that the main motivation behind him spying for Israel was the fact that he

believed the U.S. was not sharing pertinent information with Israel. Specifically, he believed the

U.S. was not warning Israel of Soviet military equipment being quietly shipped into the Middle

East (Noe, n.d., p. 3). This allows us to understand that not every piece of information can be
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passed between allies either because of political reasons or just mere oversight. Also, Israel could

use this information to create a sense of distrust against the U.S. The point is Israel may have

either not been able to put the pieces together when it came to the 9/11 attacks or they simply

had no intelligence concerning it.

Now that the information sharing has been covered, we can turn to Israel having spies on

U.S. soil. According to a U.S. General Accounting office report (2001), ³the government of

[Israel] conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the U.S. of any U.S. ally´

(Cameron). Although the statement highlights the fact that Israel conducts the most aggressive

spy operation against the U.S., it also gives us the distinct impression that all U.S. allies conduct

espionage efforts against the U.S. Why should it come as any surprise then that Israel does so as

well? The fact that 60 Israeli¶s have been detained under terrorism laws in the U.S. since 9/11

could be alarming if you don¶t take into account that Israel fights for its very existence every day

(Cameron, 2001). This has been the case since their very creation by the U.N. after World War

II. Without the valuable intelligence that Israeli agents gather, Israel may very well have been

overcome by foreign forces decades ago. The threat to Israel has not diminished either. Iran still

actively promotes the destruction of Israel and the terrorist groups of HAMAS and Hezbollah

actively wage war against Israel. Without Israeli intelligence efforts, they could easily be out

maneuvered.

Justification for Israel¶s actions does not answer the question of their trustworthiness, but

it does bring into perspective that espionage is required for the security of their state. Is Israel a

trustworthy ally? The answer is yes and no. I do believe Israel would assist the U.S. if they were

to obtain intelligence that was important to the U.S. I also believe that they will continue to
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conduct espionage operations against the U.S. This is how the world works, and it should be no

different for Israel.

References

Cameron , C (2001). Israeli is spying in and on the U.S.? part 1 of 4. S

. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEOecRtBU7U.

Noe, Denise (n.d.). The Jonathan Jay Pollard spy case. 
. Retrieved from

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/spies/pollard/1.html.