Shamai Leibowitz, a moral giant

by on September 6, 2011 42
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Daily newspapers are supposed to put the most important news right at the top.  But today's New York Times article about Shamai Leibowitz leaking documents to blogger Richard Silverstein waits until the 6th paragraph, on an inside page, to tell us why  he took the step that landed him in federal prison for 20 months.  He did not pass on documents for money, or for vindictiveness.  He broke the law because he was afraid Israel was going to launch a dangerous and disastrous strike against Iran's alleged nuclear program, and he wanted to sound a warning.  He broke the law because he was answering to a higher law, and his name should go down in history as an example of courage.
 
Shamai, who was born and raised in Israel, had a job translating F.B.I. wiretaps of the Israeli embassy in Washington.  Something he heard in those wiretaps spurred him into action.  Israel's campaign of threats against Iran was no secret, but quite a few people interpreted it as just noise.
 
Shamai Leibowitz is a 40-year-old lawyer, clearly intelligent, a family man with 2 small children.  Something he heard coming out of the Israeli embassy must have clearly frightened him to the point where he had felt he had to act, despite the risk to himself and his family. 
 
So far, Shamai Leibowitz, who is still in federal custody, is declining to comment about the case.  His right to move on with his life must be respected.  But that does not mean we cannot salute him, and add him prominently to the long list of people who over the decades of conflict in the Middle East have put humanity first.

Posted in Israel/Palestine

{ 42 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Les says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    It would be interesting to know if he left Israel for political reasons. Lots of Israelis come here to get ahead in life and become real assets to their new country, many still holding their citizenship in the country of their birth. I was always concerned that Israel would start a war with Iran with the expectation that the US would join the war to save Israel from its folly. After all, what else is our Congress for?

    • DBG says:
      September 6, 2011 at 2:50 pm

      This guy is no different than pollard, both should be in prison.

      • Woody Tanaka says:
        September 6, 2011 at 3:15 pm

        “This guy is no different than pollard”

        So far as we know, this guy’s acts didn’t directly lead to the death of American personnel. So he is different. Further, he isn’t turning over this information to a foreign government. That’s another difference.

        I haven’t been following this story, but from what limted I’ve read, he sounds more like Mordechai Vanunu to me. Vanunu is an unquestionable hero, forced to speak out due to the insanity of the Israeli government. Seems like this guy is cut from the same cloth. How long until Israel kidnaps him too, like Vanunu??

        From the article:
        “Former counterintelligence officials describe Israeli intelligence operations in the United States as quite extensive, ranking just below those of China and Russia, and F.B.I. counterintelligence agents have long kept an eye on Israeli spying. ”

        Wouldn’t you thinkt hat someone, sometime, would have added a rider into the authorization for the “aid” we send these ingrates that they need to stop spying, first. Didn’t we learn the first time around (with Pollard) that US agents’ lives aren’t safe (nor valued) to our “ally”???

        • DBG says:
          September 6, 2011 at 3:29 pm

          Neither did Pollard’s actions. (you can link to your Veterans Today article if you want, but we all know it is nonsense)

          They both were American citizens who disclosed classified information. The difference between you and me Woody, is I consider them all three criminals (Pollard and Leibowitz more because they betrayed MY country) where you only consider Pollard a criminal because the other two’s action were against Israel.

        • Woody Tanaka says:
          September 6, 2011 at 3:54 pm

          “Neither did Pollard’s actions.”

          Yes, they did, but until the records are all declassified, no one will know for sure. But even if they did not, Pollard’s crimes are much, much worse, for many reasons, not the least of which is the nature of the material which was stolen.

          “The difference between you and me Woody, is I consider them all three criminals (Pollard and Leibowitz more because they betrayed MY country) where you only consider Pollard a criminal because the other two’s action were against Israel.”

          False. I recognize that they all are criminals because they broke the laws of their states; the difference is you apparently refuse to make any reasoned and informed moral distinctions. I further recognize that Pollard’s crime was the worst; Leibowitz’s was a marginally serious one, where the release had the potential to be more beneficial to the US and the world than the US was harmed by his release of the info; and Vanunu did a great service to humanity and has been hounded by a vicious and warped society ever since.

        • Shingo says:
          September 6, 2011 at 5:49 pm

          Pollard’s actions lead to the deaths of Americans. Veterans Today were nit the first to report the story.

          Just because you don’t like the story doesn’t make it none

        • Fredblogs says:
          September 7, 2011 at 4:41 am

          @Woody Tanaka
          You said “Yes, [Pollard's actions] did [directly lead to the death of American personnel], but until the records are all declassified, no one will know for sure.”

          That’s a positive statement. Not “They may have”, but “they did”. So either you have access to, and have just illegally disclosed, classified records, or you are simply making stuff up to try to win an argument. So which is it? Traitor or stand up philosopher?

        • Woody Tanaka says:
          September 14, 2011 at 4:28 pm

          One can state a conclusion, borne from classified records, and not illegally disclose those classified records.

      • Kathleen says:
        September 15, 2011 at 7:47 pm

        What we know about Pollards activities were that they undermined US national security in a major way.

        From what we know about Leibowitz he sounds like he has put his own ass on the line to protect US national security.

        But would like to know if the outing of these documents alerted any congress people who might have been making deals with the Israeli embassy that the US was spying on them?

    • lysias says:
      September 6, 2011 at 3:24 pm

      Two things I noticed in the NYT article that may be worth noting.

      Leibowitz moved in 2004 to Silver Spring, where he was a leader in his synagogue.

      The judge in his case was never informed what information Leibowitz had revealed. When he passed sentence, he had no way of knowing how heinous or justifiable what Leibowitz had done was.

    • pabelmont says:
      September 6, 2011 at 4:43 pm

      Congress is not there to SAVE Israel from folly, but to JOIN Israel in folly.

  2. Ira Glunts says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:56 pm

    James,

    Thanks for the post. I join you in your salute to Shamai.

    I would like to point out that in January 2002 Shamai Leibowitz was one of the first 50 soldiers in the reserve of the IDF who signed the Combatants’ Letter. That letter publicly condemned the occupation and was a pledge to refuse to continue to serve in the territories. Many of these soldiers served prison time for their refusal.

    Shamai’s decision not to serve in the territories may suggest the answer to your question, Les.

    The letter: link to seruv.org.il

    Signatories: Shamai is number 47 on the list. link to seruv.org.il

    • longliveisrael says:
      September 6, 2011 at 3:04 pm

      But he had no problem helping to spy on his native country and then claiming to be oh so moral and betraying his new country as well. This guy is a winner.

      • Woody Tanaka says:
        September 6, 2011 at 3:24 pm

        “But he had no problem helping to spy on his native country”

        So? There were many people who spied on their native countries, as, for example, of the German-Americans and Japanese-Americans who spied on those countries during WWII, or the Russian-Americans who spied on the USSR during the cold war. When your state does evil things, even your own citizens notice it. (Some more than others.)

        “and then claiming to be oh so moral and betraying his new country as well.”

        Preventing you lunatics from starting a war with Iran because of your paranoia is not a “betray[al]” of the US, even if he did break the law.

      • Danaa says:
        September 6, 2011 at 4:00 pm

        LLI, that native country is an enemy of the US, doing everything it can to undermine America. They spread their spies and sleeper software throughout our agencies, buy our congress (cf Jane harman, who works for israel), threaten our interestsin the world, and cause 1000′s of American citizens to lose their lives – both at 9/11 and afterwards during the Iraq invasion – which israel precipitated.

        Well they should be spied on. I just hope someone will kick them and show these rogues the door. But no chance of that with all the money poured into our congress, contaminating our elections and legislature process.

        Israel has done enormous damage to the US, the magnitude of which is not realized yet by most. Subversion is and should be a crime, but the subversive elements get free get out of jail card thanks to their traitorous allies in the US. It’s a good thing that the FBI looks with some suspicion on their den of spies masquerading as an “embassy”. At least in cairo, they now have to build a wall around the israeli embassy to protect it from their citizens who are understandably furious at the mafiosi state on their border.

        Shamai sounds like a great guy. Unlike the sniveling traitorous moral midget Pollard, Shamai leaked information that may have saved countless lives. Plus it sounds like he was always a man of conscience, even in that thuggish ethnocracy where he was born.

        • longliveisrael says:
          September 7, 2011 at 1:07 am

          Explain something to me. The Arab/Muslim oil producing countries have way more money than Israel does. So, if it’s about money and influencing your leadership, wouldn’t they have more clout? Or is because we have the Protocols and know all the secrets of how to do it.

        • Shingo says:
          September 7, 2011 at 2:13 am

          The Arab/Muslim oil producing countries have way more money than Israel does. So, if it’s about money and influencing your leadership, wouldn’t they have more clout?

          Good question.

          There was a very good articel that appeared in the NYT about six montsh ago that tackled this dillema, It documented that in spite fo their wealth, the Arabs have failed to translate that power into political influence.

        • Danaa says:
          September 7, 2011 at 4:23 am

          Ah…. money. Makes the world go ’round, don’t it?

          I understand you are a simple man (woman?). So let me be simple too. It’s not the absolute amount – it’s where it flows and with what speed (ie, it’s the density of flow and directionality that matter, not the absolute magnitude). Well, you did study a little Physics, I trust?

          As for the protocols – so glad you brought it up. It’s the most amazing exercise in warped time travel I have seen – something that was false at the time, turning out to be all too true one hundred years later. As if someone/something adopted it as a script – maybe as a kind of a jock? Makes you almost believe in the Matrix (blessed be they), don’t it?

          PS The matrix IS my religion, having found Judaism a bit wanting on the edges (and pilpul way too peppery/spicy for my delicate taste buds), christianity a bit too wish fulfilly (when not too edgy, end-of day-sy), Islam too fatalisticky, Buddhism too precious and Natural Science not quite ready for prime time…..

          Enjoy, LLI…..

    • Les says:
      September 6, 2011 at 3:35 pm

      Thanks for the information.

      For more about getting the US dragged into a war by Israel against Iran, check out the role of Dr. Lani Kass in “Rex Redux.”

      link to mondoweiss.net

      For a detailed account of what happened: “Navy veteran questions why six nuclear missiles were flown on combat aircraft to staging area for Middle East,”

      link to rawstory.com

  3. Les says:
    September 6, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Leibowitz is in prison. Where does the FBI think Jane Harman should be?

  4. Justice Please says:
    September 6, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    If all that is true, this man indeed is a hero. Thanks for the tribute. We should never forget that change is possible if people actually DO something, like Mr. Leibowitz did.

  5. Chu says:
    September 6, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    Last paragraph of the NYTimes article:
    “While treated as highly classified by the F.B.I., the fact that the United States spies on Israel is taken for granted by experts on intelligence. “We started spying on Israel even before the state of Israel was formally founded in 1948, and Israel has always spied on us,” said Mr. Aid, the author. “Israeli intercepts have always been one of the most sensitive categories,” designated with the code word Gamma to indicate their protected status, he said.

    Douglas M. Bloomfield, an American columnist for several Jewish publications, said that when he worked in the 1980s for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group, he assumed that communications with the embassy were not private.

    “I am not surprised at all to learn that the F.B.I. was listening to the Israelis,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s a wise use of resources because I don’t see Israel as a threat to American security.” “

    • Duscany says:
      September 6, 2011 at 8:07 pm

      The trouble with having Israel as an ally is that the Israeli government always puts the interests of Israel first, whereas the American congress always puts the interests of Israel first too.

  6. Kathleen says:
    September 6, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    I wonder who Liebowitz alerted that the Us was listening in by releasing this classified material. Was the congress person alerted Jane “waddling on over to interfere in the Aipac investigation and trial” Harman alerted. Who was that congress person?

  7. Duscany says:
    September 6, 2011 at 8:04 pm

    I respect Liebowitz’s courage. He knew that, if Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear sites, Iran would retaliate against not only Israel but any US forces in the area. This in turn would guarantee that the United States would be drawn into the conflict on Israel’s side (with the rest of the world on the other). That new war would destroy the American economy back for an entire generation, impoverish the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, and diminish the prospects for their children and grandchildren.

    Liebowitz had the courage of his convictions, a rare commodity nowadays.

  8. thetumta says:
    September 6, 2011 at 10:12 pm

    He did give Israeli intelligence a heads up and only 22 months in a half way house? I’m afraid we’re done for?
    Hej!

  9. Fredblogs says:
    September 7, 2011 at 4:47 am

    The penalty for leaking classified data should be far _more_ severe when someone has what they see as a good moral reason for disclosing it. Otherwise, what is there to deter the next do-gooding traitor like Pollard or Leibowitz from leaking info.

    • Shingo says:
      September 7, 2011 at 7:21 am

      The penalty for leaking classified data should be far _more_ severe when someone has what they see as a good moral reason for disclosing it.

      Which is why Steve Rosen should be in jail sitting next to Fraklin.

      • Fredblogs says:
        September 7, 2011 at 8:41 pm

        No, Rosen was leaked to, not a leaker. I didn’t say Richard Silverstein should go to prison. Neither Silverstein nor Rosen took an oath to protect those secrets and they could have believed that the respective leaks were unofficial ways for the U.S. government to disseminate information that they wanted other people to have, but didn’t want to officially provide.

        • Shingo says:
          September 7, 2011 at 8:59 pm

          Wrong Fred,

          Rosen was actively involved in Franklin’s activities, and procuring the information. That’s how they have been trying to extrap Juliam Assange, by arguing that he actively helped Manning to acquire leaked information.

          Like Rosen, Assange didn’t take any oath to protect those secrets. In fact, he’s not even a US citizen.

        • Fredblogs says:
          September 8, 2011 at 10:13 am

          Assange knew the leaks were damaging to the U.S., but was not an American, therefore he is not a traitor, though he is probably guilty of violating other anti-espionage laws against providing information to the enemies of America. Though it is more likely he will be assassinated as a spy rather than tried.

          I’m not aware of any evidence that Rosen knew the leaks were anything more than routine unofficial briefings by the government. Apparently the U.S. Attorneys aren’t aware of any such evidence either, since they dropped the charges. So either you have evidence the U.S. Attorneys don’t, in which case you should come forward as a witness right away, or as usual you are just making $!#@ up.

        • lysias says:
          September 8, 2011 at 11:38 am

          How does the U.S. have any jurisdiction over what Assange, an Australian citizen, did outside U.S. territory?

          Did the Soviet Union have jurisdiction to try publishers in the West who published Khrushchev’s secret 1956 speech denouncing Stalin?

        • Shingo says:
          September 8, 2011 at 7:55 pm

          Assange knew the leaks were damaging to the U.S., but was not an American, therefore he is not a traitor, though he is probably guilty of violating other anti-espionage laws against providing information to the enemies of America.

          The fact that he is not an American has not stopped the US government trying to indict him on the grounds that he participated in procuring the leaks from Braldey Manning.

          I’m not aware of any evidence that Rosen knew the leaks were anything more than routine unofficial briefings by the government.

          AIPAC argued that they were unaware of what Rosen was up to and that his handling of classified documents was not in line with AIPAC policy. In his defamation lawsuit against AIPAC, Rosen arguied that handling classified information (ie. procuring it) was standard practic for AIPAC.

          Apparently the U.S. Attorneys aren’t aware of any such evidence either, since they dropped the charges.

          Apprently you don’t have a clue what tyuo are talking about. The US Justice DEpartment dropped the charges because they didn’t have concrete evidence that Rosen broke any laws.

        • Shingo says:
          September 8, 2011 at 7:56 pm

          How does the U.S. have any jurisdiction over what Assange, an Australian citizen, did outside U.S. territory?

          Since when has jurisdiction stopped the US government from pulling these stunts?

  10. Henry Norr says:
    September 7, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    On the other side of the moral ledger, there’s the case of Stuart Nozette, covered on NPR today:

    A scientist who worked for the federal government pleaded guilty to attempted espionage on Wednesday.

    Prosecutors say Stewart David Nozette tried to pass classified information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer.

    Nozette admitted in federal court that he tried to provide Israel with top secret information about satellites, early warning systems, ways of retaliating against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information and major elements of defense strategy.

  11. Kathleen says:
    September 15, 2011 at 7:42 pm

    Listening to Richard Silverstein over at anti war.com’s.

    Did not know that Shamai Leibowitz had refused to serve in the Israeli army and serve in the occupied territories.

    Also that Rosen and Weissman had 8 million spent on their defense