Israel Wary of American Promises on Iran

Thursday, October 24, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked away from Wednesday's meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome seemingly still unconvinced that Washington knows what it's doing vis-a-vis Iran's nuclear program.

Israel has grown increasingly uneasy as the US and other Western powers appear ready to drop sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for what amount to "cosmetic concessions."

At the start of Wednesday's meeting, Kerry sought to calm the Israelis by stating, "We will need to know that actions are being taken, which make it clear, undeniably clear, fail-safe to the world, that whatever program is pursued is indeed a peaceful program."

America's top diplomat reiterated his position that "no deal is better than a bad deal."

But during their marathon seven-hour sit-down, The New York Times cited Netanyahu as telling Kerry that "a partial deal that leaves Iran with these capabilities is a bad deal."

Indeed, the deal currently being touted by both Iran and the Obama Administration would permit Tehran to keep most of its nuclear program intact, including its uranium enrichment facilities, so long as Iran promises to never build an atomic bomb.

"We, of course, cannot agree to that," Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said later in an interview with Israel Radio.

Like Netanyahu, Steinitz believes the West is making a big mistake by not actually increasing sanctions in order to bring Iran to a breaking point and truly bring an end to the nuclear crisis.

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Israelis to Americans: Get used to being spied on

Monday, June 10, 2013 |  Ryan Jones

Israel Today magazine  

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As Israelis watch the unfolding Internet spying scandal in the US, the local response has been fairly unanimous: We're used to it, and Americans should probably get used to it, as well.

Israelis live in what most Americans would probably consider a constant state of "red alert," considering the unrelenting security threats faced by the nation. In light of that, most Israelis have resigned themselves to the fact that their government and local authorities are keeping close tabs on them, and that individual privacy is little more than an illusion, at least when it comes to communications.

A report in the Times of Israel noted that in 2009, for instance, the Israel Police filed 9,000 requests for personal information from local cellphone and Internet companies. The companies, including Google, were compelled to provide that information even without a warrant, and even though thousands of the requests had nothing to do with terrorist threats or criminal violence.

A year earlier, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel had filed a lawsuit against the government and the compliant companies, demanding an end to unchecked surveillance of personal communications. The courts threw the case out, prompting the government to seek even broader powers.

Today in Israel, the police, the various national security agencies, the army, the tax authorities, the Environment Ministry and even the National Parks Authority have the right to request, without a warrant, private and personal communications from average citizens.

And yet, there is little, if any, local outcry. "Israelis are used to being spied on all the time," Jonathan Klinger, a lawyer specializing in media and technology, wrote on his personal blog. "As Israelis, the authority of the American agencies sounds like a joke."