Last week, Yediot reporter Shimon Shiffer reported a major brewing security scandal. However, the story was censored and he barely offered any facts about the case. I posted about this recently. Since then I’ve been able to uncover little new information about it. But there is a tantalizing new development which I believe is connected.
Two days ago, Netanyahu proposed a new regulation (in Hebrew) which, if approved by the security cabinet, would criminalize any media reference to any private information about any currently serving or former Mossad officials. It would similarly criminalize reporting on any Mossad facilities. Penalties would be as high as life in prison for willful violations intended to harm national security. Both journalists and their sources are specifically targeted by the proposed regulation and could receive sentences of up to 15 years. Offenses would be prosecuted as espionage.
Unlike other legislative matters, this new regulation does not have to be approved by the full Knesset. It will require the rubber stamp of the Knesset foreign affairs committee, which has never in its history rejected any such request. So it is that the prime minister may send Israeli journalists to prison without full legislative review or oversight.
A further irony is that these same ministers, including Bibi himself, would be entitled to leak virtually the same material to the same media outlets to their heart’s content. Instead of facing prison, they face all the perks of office and a nice fat pension to boot.
Avner Cohen, expert in the ways of Mossad, sees this as a retreat to the hoary old days of yesteryear when virtually everything about Mossad was opaque. He may be right. But I suspect another reason explains the timing of this regulation.
Let’s return to Shiffer’s story: if it does concern the Mossad and it is a major scandal as he claims, then it likely would involve one or many current or ex-Mossadniks. It might involve reporting something about their personal lives in order to explain the context of the scandal. It certainly might involve various Mossad facilities at which the incidents involved in the scandal occurred.
Thus, this proposed regulation may be a pre-emptive shot across the bow of the Israeli media. Bibi is saying in effect that reporting it could land anyone doing so in jail for a long time. This is Bibi the master manipulator attempting desperately to manage yet another scandal.
In a true democracy, journalists would laugh at this and go about their reporting without a fear. But in Israel, where journalists have already gone to jail for similar reporting, this is no laughing matter. For a reporter with a family, are they willing to risk missing seeing their children grow up? Or given the precedent of Ben Zygier, are they willing to see their spouses abandon them as they face a decade or more in prison? All for the sake of a story?
It goes without saying that press freedom has been severely curtailed under the Netanyahu regime. Approval of this regulation would effectively neuter the press. The news outlets might as well publish nothing but press releases from the government press office.
I should add that numerous times in the past I have violated this regulation. Though I am safe writing this blog from America, were I ever to visit Israel I might be subject to arrest and possibly worse for doing this. Some may argue that as an American citizen publishing outside Israel I should fall outside Israeli legal jurisdiction. But Israel has shown in its conception of social media that posts which are published outside Israel still violate Israeli law. And Twitter has put up no fight against this cockamamie theory. So if it expands this to reporting on Mossad, Israel could attempt to snare non-Israeli citizens in its net if they enter Israel. Under a Pres. Trump and his settler ambassador, there would be little or no protection offered by the U.S. embassy to its citizens. It could be a nightmare.
In my earlier post I suggested that the Mossad scandal might involve the Australian media and gambling tycoon, James Packer, who gave Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen thousands of dollars worth of Mariah Carey concert tickets and use of his Tel Aviv villa. A former Haaretz editor suggested on Facebook that the mutual favors done by and for Packer may’ve included much more. Perhaps Packer did favors for the Mossad like Arnon Milchan did when he stole U.S. uranium to make the Israeli Bomb. Perhaps funds flowed to Packer from the Mossad or from Packer to Cohen. This is speculation at this point. But speculation that will lead to a bombshell in Bibi and Cohen’s future, no doubt.
There is legislative review – in this case by the Kenessat’s Security & Foriegn affairs comittee which has to approve the regulation (צו) [this is true for almost all ministry actions – they all go to committee].
I will grant you that the committee is very likely to rubber stamp this.
Note that anyone arrested on this charge will have to stand trial – in front of an Israeli district court. The regulation stipulates that anyone who “outs” a mossad person (current of former) is committing a crime of espionage (as the regulation states this information is “privledged” and withheld).
It is still possible to report without “outing” – with circumspect references.
@ lepxii: I had a conversation with Avner Cohen about this & misunderstood something he mentioned in his explanation. So yes, there is approval of a single Knesset committee. This committee has never disapproved any such request before nor will it now, as you concede. This is not oversight nor a real review. This is rubber stamp. The behavior of a national security state:
As for reporting on this subject, when you report with “circumspect references” this is censorship & emasculation of the press. It is the tactic of an authoritarian regime not a democracy.
Richard.
Please don’t interpret this comment as snark. It isn’t meant to be.
My question is this. Has your blog had any real effect on the lives of Israelis? I think it’s safe to say, that 99.99% of Israelis don’t know your blog exists, much less read it.
The demographics of Israel suggest that Israel’s real problems aren’t going to made any less by the efforts of a lone American blogger.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4900823,00.html
I live in Israel and read this blog, not that I agree with it all the time … I think it’s important to understand and/or read from a wide range of opinions.
It’s a new form of snark – the humble-snark! Like the humble-brag, the humble-snark is all about covering the stinger of the brag or snark statement with some humility. The problem is, neither humble-bragging nor humble-snarking actually work.
@Ben: Oops, there goes your argument: my blog is ranked 10,000 in Israel by Alexa. Often 30-40% of visitors are from Israel. And none other than Ronen Bergman told me that the blog is well read in circles he runs in: intelligence & journalism.
Israeli Military censors aren’t in the habit of recognizing, let alone threatening bloggers unless they provoke fear or deep resentment in their hearts. I do, I’m proud to say.
When Israel’s cyber police censor my Twitter timeline (TL) in Israel. That’s a clear refutation of your claims.
Next time you might want to know what you’re talking about before opening your mouth.
I ask this with no ulterior motive, is it the fact that Israel engages in such behaviour or that such behaviour is found in many intelligence agencies and you simply focus on Israel here?
@ Gefilte: Or perhaps it’s the fact that the ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY STATE is the subject of this blog??? Or hadn’t you bothered to notice?
Just a minor question – how exactly is this different from the law in the US?
The Espionage Act of 1917 the Intelligence Identities and Protection Act prohibits –
” to intentionally reveal the identity of an agent whom one knows to be in or recently in certain covert roles with a U.S. intelligence agency, unless the United States has publicly acknowledged or revealed the relationship” –
and one can get up to 10 years in prison for breaking this law …
I would assume that most democracies have similar laws
@ Stan: The new Israeli regulation is far broader. It criminalizes exposing any personal details (including names, but also other details as well) of all current AND PAST personnel and criminalizes the exposure of Mossad facilities. And you can get life in prison for these crimes, not just 10 yrs. That was all in my post. Didn’t you bother reading it?
No you can’t get life imprisonment – you can get a maximum of 15 years (at least according to what Haaretz had to say about it).
Exposure of secret CIA facilities carries life imprisonment in the US under the Espionage Act including any of the following
Harboring or concealing any individual, whether domestic or foreign in origin, whom the concealing party has reason to believe has committed or is about to commit an offense under federal espionage laws.
Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information, including the gathering of information on bases, stations, vehicles, aircraft, and a wide variety of other national security assets, which may be injurious to the United States.
Gathering or delivering such information as provided above to any foreign government or foreign agent. This can include the sale or other transfer of such information as provided above, or the sale or transfer of photographs, drawings, or other representations.
Photographing or sketching any defense installation, or using aircraft to photograph any such installation, which can be compounded by charges of publishing or selling such representations.
Disclosing classified information, including classified information to which a person had rightful legal access to at the time when they became aware of that information. This has been the basis of most modern espionage prosecutions.
So basically, your “exposition” of secret Israeli sites – could land you in prison for life, if the sites were US sites.
@Stan: if your intent is to harm the security of the state the term is LIFE. Further, the U.S. law you mention does not refer to publication of the data in the MEDIA, which would offer special protection to the journalist. Nor does it mention punishing the reporter, as Israeli regulation dues. Under U.S. law I would not be charged since I didn’t amass the original information myself. I merely published material already published. That’s not a criminal offense under U.S. law. It would be in Israel.
Not to mention that this less restrictive U.S. law was approved by Congress, not the executive, as in Israel’s case.
James Rosen of Fox News would disagree with you – there is no special protection for journalists in indictments under the Espionage Act (since the very fact the one receives the information and does not immediately turn it over would be considered conspiracy).
As for reusing previously published information – that would not even be a mitigating circumstance if your venue is more accessible than the original publisher.
Get better legal council …
@Stan: Of course there are no special protections under the espionage act. That’s because freedom of the press is inscribed in the Bill of Rights, which trump’s mere laws. In other words, it doesn’t need to be enumerated in the Act.
I don’t know who “James Rosen” is but if you use Fox News as an arbiter of anything yer a damn fool. I think you meant James Risen of the NY Times. If you confused the two, that confirms yer a damn fool.
You’re wrong yet a 3rd time. Risen wasn’t charged under the Act, never went to prison, and never revealed his sources per My understanding & recollection.
As for whether publishing material already published offers any protection from the Act– you ain’t a lawyer, you ain’t even American based on the ignorance betrayed above, and you don’t know shit. So stop pretending you know, when you clearly don’t have a clue.
Any prosecutor who attempted to imprison a journalist for publishing material already freely available would be laughed out of court.
No – it is you who are wrong – yet again.
James Rosen is a FOX correspondent who was on the wrong side of the law.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rosen_(journalist)
@Stan: Still doesn’t prove your claim. In fact, this case undermines it. Yes, Justice overreached in monitoring his communications. Later, it promised it would cease such outrageous behavior. Rosen was never charged with any crime, and certainly not under the Espionage Act, as you claimed journalists could or would be.
Don’t comment further in this thread.