donderdag 4 maart 2010

De Pro Israel Lobby 192

Sayanim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sayanim (sing. Sayan; Hebrew: helpers, assistants) refers to Diaspora Jews who provide assistance to the Mossad.[1] Gordon Thomas estimates that in the United States and Britain, there are at least 20,000 sayanim who aid Israel's intelligence agencies in a number of ways.[2]

Generally-speaking, these non-Israeli Jewish volunteers are asked to engage in legal activities that will not bring them into trouble with the authorities. There are exceptions, however, as for example in the case of Jonathan Pollard, the U.S. Naval intelligence employee who engaged in espionage on behalf of Israel's intelligence agencies and whose exposure by the FBIstrained relations between the U.S. and Israel.[3]

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[edit]Overview

Victor Ostrovsky, a former Mossad katsa turned author, wrote extensively about activities of the sayanim, as has Gordon Thomas. According Ostrovsky and Thomas, the sayanim provide assistance of various kinds to Mossad officers operating in foreign countries. This assistance can include facilitating medical care, money, logistics, and even overt intelligence gathering. They can be Judges, Court Clerks, Expert Witnesses, Child Protective Service Workers, Assistant District Attorneys, Police Officers, or anyone with a great degree of power over people's lives, and will do anything at the behest of Mossad case officers (katsa) for the State of Israel against its enemies or those perceived to be unfavorable politically to Israeli policy. (By Way of Deception, Victor Ostrovsky). Sayanim are supposedly not directly involved in intelligence operations, and are only paid for their expenses.

Sayanim must be 100% Jewish. They live abroad, and though they are not Israeli citizens, many are reached through their relatives in Israel.

Katsas are in charge of the sayanim, and most active sayanim will be visited by a katsa once every three months or so, which for the katsa usually means between two and four face-to-face meetings a day with sayanim, along with numerous telephone conversations. The system allows the Mossad to work with a skeleton staff. That's why, for example, a CIA station would employ about 100 people, while a comparable Mossad station would need only six or seven.

The existence of this large body of volunteers allows the costs of intelligence gathering to be greatly reduced, and may be one reason why the Mossad operates with fewer case officers than fellow intelligence agencies.

[edit]Sayanim in fiction

[edit]References

  1. ^ Adelman, 2008, p. 154.
  2. ^ Adelman, 2008, note #55.
  3. ^ Goodspeed, 2002, p. 127.

[edit]Bibliography

[edit]Further reading

  • Ostrovsky, Victor. By Way of Deception-The making and unmaking of a Mossad Officer. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990. ISBN 0-9717595-0-2
  • Thomas, Gordon. Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. ISBN 0-312-25284-6

2 opmerkingen:

Anoniem zei

Na het intervieuw bij de BBC met Gordon

Veel verontwaardiging bij veel joodse websites. Gezien het enthousiasme voor de 'Israelische zaak' bij media,politiek etc, waarom zou men geen inlichtingen geven? Ik bedoel hiermee, als ik informatie had voor de Palestijnen, stond ik als eerste bij hen op de stoep. (grapje, Mossad)
De moordzuchtige taal over eventuele toekomstige doelwitten zegt op zichzelf ook al veel. Ik denk niet dat men wakker ligt van een moord meer of minder. Dus waarom excuses geëist? Je bent pro Israel of je bent het niet.

anzi

Anoniem zei

Haaretz: Turkmenistan Snubs Former Mossad Agent as Israel Envoy



[ 02 Mar 2010 06:31 ]


Baku – APA. For the past four months Turkmenistan has been stalling over the appointment of a former spy and close confidant of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as Israel’s first ambassador to the country, the Israeli daily Haaretz has learned, APA reports quoting Al Jazeera.
Israel in October nominated Reuven Dinel, a close associate of Lieberman and a former employee of the Mossad as its envoy to the Central Asian state. But in a rare diplomatic snub, Turkmenistan has withheld approval the posting.
’They are hoping that we’ll take the hint and nominate someone else,’ one senior diplomat told Haaretz.
Behind the rejection may lie an embarrassing episode that has dogged Dinel for more than a decade. In 1996 the Mossad man was expelled from Moscow after Russian security forces caught him accepting classified satellite photographs from senior army officers.
Lieberman first named Dinel as his choice for ambassador in July 2009. The controversial foreign minister is said to attribute special importance to the role, which involves forging new ties with and Muslim-majority country bordering Iran, which Israel sees as the greatest threat to its security.
Dinel has longstanding ties with Lieberman, who as minister of transportation appointed him in 2003 to oversee planning for the Carmel harbor in Haifa. Dinel is currently vice-president of the Israel Ports Company.
The foreign minister, who has suffered a series of setbacks over the past year, including a crisis in relations with Turkey, is said to see set great store by the former Mossad man’s abilities and reportedly sees burgeoning relations with Turkmenistan as one of the crowning achievements of his term of office.
Dinel’s appointment to Turkmenistan was officially confirmed by the government on October 25 and a few days later the foreign ministry formally contacted officials in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, to request consent for the selection.
According to diplomatic protocol, approval of new ambassadors is usually automatic and accompanied by a token bureaucratic process. But in an unusual break with established form, Turkmenistan continues to delay authorization

anzi

Peter Flik en Chuck Berry-Promised Land

mijn unieke collega Peter Flik, die de vrijzinnig protestantse radio omroep de VPRO maakte is niet meer. ik koester duizenden herinneringen ...