Report: U.S. Spying On Israel Swept Up Members Of Congress

[Purveyor]

Source: Politico

By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL 12/29/15 06:00 PM EST Updated 12/29/15 06:12 PM EST

U.S. spying programs scooped up communications between members of Congress and Israeli leaders, giving the White House insight into Israel’s lobbying of U.S. lawmakers against the Iran nuclear deal, current and former U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The article, published Tuesday afternoon, reports that the U.S. continued to spy on select leaders of allied nations despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to curb such surveillance two years ago, and that it was a top priority to maintain spying on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

As part of that continued surveillance, the National Security Agency also swept up communication showing Israeli officials trying to turn lawmakers against the international deal that curbed Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the article said.
One senior U.S. official described the discovery of the swept-up communication as an “Oh s— moment” and feared that the executive branch would be accused of spying on Congress.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/spying-israel-congress-netanyahu-217207

[geek tragedy]

1. Boo hoo. We should be monitoring governments trying to

hijack our political process.

[razorman]

7. I would hope that we are monitoring every government in

the Middle East. We have no true friends there. However, in this instance, what I think will stand out is the fact that, two years ago, President Obama promised to stop such activities toward our allies. He has now been caught breaking his word. This can have far-reaching consequences, regardless of the justification. Since it was well known that Israel was lobbying Congress over the Iran deal, I believe that the focus of this story will be the continuing surveillance. It will reopen old wounds, such as the Snowden incident.

[geek tragedy]

9. Israel isn't an ally like Germany and France are

Big difference between NATO allies, Japan, Korea etc and Israel.

[razorman]

10. True enough. But, I thought his order included all of our allies.

Hell, we would be stupid not to gather intelligence on everyone we can. We'd better be spying on Canada, for that matter. I just don't trust them. They smile too much.

[geek tragedy]

16. No, it was a promise to our closest allies and had a giant loophole

[brush]

18. Israel spies on us too. Hell, one of their spies, Jonathan Pollard was just released.

[tblue37]

24. And they have fake bacon. How can you trust anyone who calls *that* bacon? nt

[alfredo]

11. We spy on everyone, and everyone spies on us.

Curbing doesn't mean ending it.

[MADem]

26. Yep. You're not going to find me crying about this circumstance in the slightest.

Even the former 'prince of spies' from France expressed surprise that anyone would be surprised at this kind of thing--it's what nations DO. To try to pretend otherwise is living in a Pollyanna-ish bubble.

http://www.france24.com/en/20131024-nsa-france-spying-squarcini-dcri-hollande-ayrault-merkel-usa-obama

Spying on allies is all in a day’s work, the former head of France’s domestic intelligence agency (pictured) said on Thursday, following reports that the US National Security Agency recorded millions of French phone calls.

France spies on the US just as the US spies on France, the former head of France’s counter-espionage and counter-terrorism agency said Friday, commenting on reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) recorded millions of French telephone calls.

Bernard Squarcini, head of the Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur (DCRI) intelligence service until last year, told French daily Le Figaro he was “astonished” when Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he was "deeply shocked" by the claims.

“I am amazed by such disconcerting naiveté,” he said in the interview. “You’d almost think our politicians don’t bother to read the reports they get from the intelligence services.”

[Hortensis]

65. LOL. Exactly. All in a day's work. I would hope any of

our elected officials engaged in subversion of our foreign policy would have known that, but given what we're sending to Congress these days I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

[oberliner]

92. Sanders would ‘absolutely’ end NSA spying

Sen. Bernie Sanders would “absolutely” end sweeping surveillance powers at the National Security Agency, he said during the first Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday.

Without going into detail about his intentions for the agency, the Vermont Independent, who identifies as a democratic socialist, trumpeted his status as one of the few congressional opponents of the Patriot Act in the wake of the 9/11.

“I'd shut down what exists right now — is that virtually every telephone call in this country ends up in a file at the NSA,” Sanders said. “That is unacceptable to me.”

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/256865-sanders-would-absolutely-end-nsa-spying

[geek tragedy]

94. He said he would stop snooping on Americans not foreign powers nt

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Interesting!

Let the squealing begin. Ain't going to be pretty. Do remember LBJ doing this to Nixon over Vietnam.

[geek tragedy]

3. From the original story: "Going dark on Bibi? Of course we wouldn’t do that,”

Reminder that the Israeli government doesn't sit at the big kids table of US allies when the chips are down in foreign policy--only at meetings of pandering congresscritters.

Because they've proven we can't trust them.

[alfredo]

13. We have no allies, only enemies and potential enemies, is what I was told in the Army.

That means that even those we might think as friends will throw us under the bus if it served their interests.

[Yallow]

21. Spot On Alfredo

We have no friends.

We the tax payers are just supposed to pay the bill.

[alfredo]

60. Sad, but true.

[King_David]

32. Great effort your making to advance that meme,

The one that Israel is not an ally like Britain or France.

But nobody is biting ....LOL

Keep trying......

[geek tragedy]

34. Israel doesn't have a collective self-defense treaty with the US.

Countries that do:

Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, South Korea,

http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/collectivedefense/

That doesn't include the Rio Treaty, which is pretty much defunct, but covers pretty much the entire western hemisphere.

Whose name isn't on that list?

Israel.

[King_David]

36. Israel doesn't need it , all those other countries do...

Cmon , you can do better than that ...
Keep trying ...
LOL





Obama :


As Bibi mentioned, this is our 10th meeting. We’ve spent more time together, working together, than I have with any leader. And this speaks to the closeness of our two nations, the interests and the values that we share, and the depth and breadth of the ties between our two peoples.

As leaders, our most solemn responsibility is the security of our people -- that’s job number one. My job as President of the United States, first and foremost, is to keep the American people safe. Bibi, as Prime Minister, your first task is to keep the people of Israel safe. And Israel’s security needs are truly unique, as I’ve seen myself. In past trips I visited villages near the Blue Line. I’ve walked through Israeli homes devastated by Hezbollah rockets. I’ve stood in Sderot, and met with children who simply want to grow up free from fear. And flying in today, I saw again how Israel’s security can be measured in mere miles and minutes.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/03/20/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-netanyahu-israel-joint-press-

[geek tragedy]

42. Note that Hezbollah and Hamas attack Israel without us getting

drawn into it.

On the other hand, an attack on France, or Poland, is considered the same as an attack on the United States.

Hezbollah can attack Israel without worrying about a response from the USA. Russia dares not lay a finger on Estonia because they're a NATO ally.

See the difference?

[King_David]

48. Keep trying ,keep trying

Ha ha ha

No bites yet....

But keep trying....

[alfredo]

64. Israel has a powerful ally within the US, the religious conservative.

They believe Israel is important to fulfill the prophecy. Of course that will mean another holocaust, but Israel knows that prophecy will never happen. They'd be stupid not to play along if it means they get the needed support of the US.

We'd do the same.

[karynnj]

61. did you have a problem with Israel spying on all the diplomats

At the various talks on Iran, including Kerry? Did you have a problem on their spying on Kerry and his team when Kerry was in Israel?

[napi21]

4. If our congress critters are doing or saying things they're afraid of being caught at doing,

MAYBE they shouldn't be doing those things! I think it's quite funny that this is being made public. We knew some of them had been colluding with Netanyahu just be his invitation to speak to congress, but I'm sure they didn't really want their collusion made public.

Suffer you creeps. I'll continue to make fun of you the whole time!

[salib]

6. Same logic as "you only have to worry about government spying on you if ...

You are doing something wrong."

Aren't we better than that by now.

[alfredo]

12. If the government isn't spying on you, you aren't trying hard enough.

[napi21]

19. In the case of Congress, no they're NOT! Obciously they're always

doing stuff behind closed doors THAT SHOULDN'T BE DONE! Put it in the category of "probable cause" if you like that better.

[comradebillyboy]

5. When members of congress conspire with a foriegn power

to sabotage US foreign policy then I think surveillance is not only warranted but necessary for national security.

[vkkv]

15. !!!!

You got it.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

23. Name names n/t

[salib]

8. There are serious separation of powers issues here.

[geek tragedy]

17. No. Only one branch has the authority to spy on foreign powers nt

[salib]

40. But not the authority to then spy on congress critters.

Whatever the excuse, like "but they were talkin to furriners"

[geek tragedy]

44. The NSA has every right to intercept every communication sent by foreign

powers into the USA. Here it did not pass to the WH information identifying to whom the foreign power was sending communication.

If one gets a communication from a foreign government, assume the NSA knows about it.

[salib]

46. They have "the right"?

Where in the constitution is that power granted?

Also, why is a warrant specific to each infringement not required?

[geek tragedy]

59. Foreign powers have no constitutional right of privacy

[Bradical79]

39. I don't see how

The spying was on foreign officials. If a congress person chooses to communicate with that person in some unofficial capacity, it's not executive branch's fault. If as president you think certain foreigners need spied on, I don't see how some U.S. legislator going out of his/her way to communicate with that person changes that.

[salib]

43. Interesting

You use the phrases:
- "in some unofficial capacity"
- "going out of his way"

If the NSA is spying on me and they use the excuse that it was in some unofficial capacity and I was going out of my way to communicate with people who are not US citizens, I would call BS on that.

These are the excuses of dictators and tyrants.

[Bradical79]

47. Still not seeing a separation of powers issue

Looking at it as a separation of powers issue, if you are going to give spying powers to the executive branch, deciding to communicate with foreign officials looking to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts is pretty likely to get your communications with those officials snatched up with everything else. If you think someone needs spied on, would you shut down surveillance on that person because John Boehner decided to respond to their email or give them a call? It doesn't make a lot of sense.

I understand being against spying in general principle, but U.S. and Israeli agencies have been spying on each other for a long time. This isn't spying on congress members communications, it's spying on a foreign government who is also spying on the U.S.

[salib]

49. It is the onus of the government agency that is spying to be sure they are not violating

The constitution.

You say "I understand being against spying in general principle, but U.S. and Israeli agencies have been spying on each other for a long time. This isn't spying on congress members communications, it's spying on a foreign government who is also spying on the U.S. "

That sounds like the kids in the back of the car saying " but he did it first".

[Bradical79]

50. but what's the constitutional violation?

[salib]

51. 4th amendment.

[Bradical79]

56. So does the 4th amendment apply to foreign officials outside of the U.S.?

Because that's what we're talking about here.

edit: For clarification, how would you handle phone tapping of a non-American in a foreign country? Eliminate the practice alltogether? Play it by the book like a criminal investigation in the U.S? Secret courts?

[6chars]

63. That's not all that happened

US citizens talking to foreign officials. And possibly US citizens talking to US citizens from pro-Israel groups in the US. And not just citizens but congressional representatives. I get that they were talking about something the President was against, and most of DU was against. But to me it is really troubling. I can't really imagine circumstances under which the President should be able to spy on large numbers of representatives. Not that this would happen under Obama, but this is something that sets up and is common in dictatorships. It allows the President to circumvent congressional debate. If there was literally discussion of a revolution, or of crimes against the US, or exchanging classified information, then yes, absolutely appropriate. If not, then a dangerous precedent. In this case, what was being discussed was legitimate political action even if the President thought that action was undesirable.

I am really surprised - shocked actually - that most at DU are so cool with this just because it is for the Democratic side this time.

[geek tragedy]

67. Stop lying. Obama was not spying on US citizens. The NSA was spying on a foreign government

The foreign government's outgoing communications were intercepted by the NSA. To the extent those intercepts were forwarded to the President, the names of every recipient were redacted.

This is not a case of bugging AIPAC's offices.

[Bradical79]

69. What's your source?

I'm talking about the article listed in the original topic starter of this thread. If that's what you are also talking about, then you seem to be inferring a lot that I'm not seeing there. If you're using another source, I wouldn't mind seeing it (or starting a new thread about it) so we can all be on the same page.

[6chars]

55. President spying congressional representatives is a pretty big deal

There is great potential for abuse in that. Do you remember your President Nixon?

[Bradical79]

57. He wasn't spying on congressional representatives

The NSA was spying on foreign officials outside of the U.S.

[geek tragedy]

75. "do you remember your President Nixon?"

I love it when foreigners (gee I wonder from which country this one hails) try to lecture us about our own history.

This story is about spying on a foreign government, not Congress.

[karynnj]

62. yes there is - should the out of power party collude with a foreign country

[hughee99]

93. This is only an issue when there's a republican president. n/t

[vkkv]

14. Israel does not support our president who won by a "landslide". Israel is no

friend of ours on the anti-war left. Far from it, Israel as a political body and nation are trouble-makers and shit-stirrers. As a people, every person of Jewish heritage that I have met ( if I knew if they were anyway..) is very nice, including my brother-in-law.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

27. True, but as a government, they commit war crimes and steal land.

[vkkv]

72. Yep - but be careful - you could be tagged as "anti-semitic" !!!

by a lot of idiots here at D.U.

[davidpdx]

20. I am conflicted

I don't like spying in general. At the same time I don't trust Israel, especially when it comes to the deal with Iran. They have made it crystal clear they want to attack Iran and drag the US into a war. Until the voters there wise up and elect a moderate (which could be awhile), I think we have to be very careful about Israel interfering in a treaty we've signed with another government in good faith.

Sadly I believe there is no right answer.

[bananas]

22. The Iran deal is not a treaty, executive agreement, signed document, or legally binding.

Last edited Wed Dec 30, 2015, 02:31 AM - Edit history (2)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action

There was initially disagreement on if the deal is legally binding on the United States.[e] The U.S State Department clarified this in a November 19th, 2015 letter to Congress, stating that "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document. The JCPOA reflects political commitments between Iran, the P5+1, and the EU."[235] According to the State Department Political Commitments are non-binding.

edit to add: more info here:

https://www.lawfareblog.com/state-department-affirms-iran-deal-only-political-commitment

State Department Affirms That Iran Deal Is Only a Political Commitment

By Matthew Weybrecht Saturday, November 28, 2015, 2:10 PM

<snip>

This is not a new development, though it is interesting to see the administration assert it so explicitly. Both Jack Goldsmith and John Bellinger (among others) made this clear when the deal was announced this summer. Jack noted that the deal was not a pure executive agreement but merely a political agreement, which “do[es] not create legally binding obligations, even if [it has] normative force in the political (or moral) context.” And, as John argued, while the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) that implemented some of the terms of the JCPOA is binding under international law, the JCPOA itself is not. Nor does the UNSCR require the U.S. to lift domestic sanctions.

<snip>

edit to add: it's not legally binding on Iran, either.

[davidn3600]

33. The Iran deal is not a treaty

Treaties have to be approved by 2/3rds of the Senate.

The Iran deal is an executive agreement, one that can be undone by any future president.

[Bradical79]

41. Not an executive agreement either

Person above you posted the link with the state department clarification. It's a nonbinding political agreement, which kind of makes congress critters' freakout over the deal seem extra silly.

[6chars]

28. President spying on members of congress. Sounds good to me.

USA! USA! USA!

Oh, wait. Is this Democratic Underground? I thought it was somewhere else.

[jonno99]

30. It's OK - he's one of ours...nt

[6chars]

38. what about spying on congress communications with US pro-Israel groups?

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/us-not-only-spying-on-israel-but-on-u-s-pro-israel-legislators-and-groups/2015/12/30/

Does this raise any concerns about anything?

[geek tragedy]

45. you're linking to a Kahanist shitrag publication

http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/felafel-on-rye/a-jewish-hero-grows-up-in-brooklyn/2012/06/05/

http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/felafel-on-rye/warning-living-in-israel-is-a-commandment-of-the-torah/2012/06/07/

Which, besides providing insight into your ideology and agenda, means your wild claim is unsubstantiated and ergo assumed to be false.

It bears noting that Democratic supporters of Israel are not bothered by this.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/264473-dems-brush-off-latest-spying-report#.VoRiLptA-ds.twitter

It's only rightwing ideologues--the kind who get their news from Kahanist and Judeofascist websites--who are whining about this.

[King_David]

52. Cmon , that's the best response you have ?

The source ?

Really???

LOL

[geek tragedy]

58. jewishpress.com is as credible as davidduke.com

The poster is making a factual claim based on propaganda posted by a racist, fascist Judeosupremacist far right wing crank website.

Ergo, the factual claim is void of any merit absent a legit source backing it up.

[geek tragedy]

66. By the way, please don't let us ever catch you complaining about Mondoweiss again.

Jewishpress.com is 100X more racist and extremist.

[King_David]

68. Jewish Press is right wing and I would never use it

But Mondoweiss is considered a bigoted anti American-Jew hate site.

You will catch me complaining about Mondoweiss whenever it's used.

[geek tragedy]

70. Jewishpress is virulently racist--it's run by Kahanists. Weiss attracts a lot of creepy-crawlies

from the world of anti-semites to his comments section, but he's not a virulent bigot like those who generate content for jewishpress.com

[King_David]

74. Weiss himself has written bigoted pieces against American Jews such as myself. nt

[geek tragedy]

76. go ahead and post an example nt

[King_David]

79. Here's one smLl example

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1134121976#post79

Follow that thread for starters

[geek tragedy]

81. that paragraph objects to the fact it was only Jews debating Israel's future

Not that it was Jews, but rather that it didn't include people representing 20% of citizens and 40+% of those ruled by Israel

Apparently the point went over some heads.

[geek tragedy]

73. jewishpress.com is also hideously bigoted towards the GLBT communities

A few examples of their rancid bigotry:

http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/fuchs-focus/liberal-orthodoxys-homosexual-dilemma/2015/06/15/

http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/sorry-but-ill-spend-my-money-elsewhere/2005/02/09/

“I support a clean environment as much as you do,” I wrote, “but if you are a real rabbi, how can you honestly support marriage for homosexuals? How can you label our president (Bush) a reactionary, when he has proven his support for Israel and the Jewish people?”

http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/we-stopped-the-march-for-now/2006/11/15/

But the people who really made the parade not happen were a few hundred teenagers disenchanted with the continuing spiritual rape of Jerusalem by a small cadre of homosexual militants who were not satisfied with having a homosexual bar, a homosexual nightlife and subculture, and a homosexual city councilman, but demanded that Jerusalem yield to an annual parade and an international LBTG convention as well.

The youngsters decided to kindle Lag b’Omer and Chanukah fires a bit early in the season. All their bonfires together left as much street garbage as follows the average rock concert. Despite the unwarranted and biased intervention of Attorney General Mazuz and Chief Justice Beinish, no march took place this year in Yerushalayim.

Even leftists like Ehud Olmert, Collette Avital, and Shimon Peres sided with the religious and viewed them as being provoked by the militant homosexual leadership. In any event, police indiscriminately beat religious Jews, even entering homes and stopping cars in order to drag people out and beat them.

Imagine if, instead of a few hundred Yerushalmis and yeshiva students, we would have seen 20,000 adults take to the streets each night – fathers and mothers from Mizrachi and Shas, the yeshiva and chassidic worlds. All the police horses and all the policemen in Israel would not have dared beat them.

All right, so we temporarily pushed the arrogant homosexuals back into a large, outdoor closet, a stadium on the edge of town. Is the fight over? Absolutely not. The sponsor – the Jerusalem Open House – promises more parades and other similar events “sooner than you think!”

http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/haemtza/well-intentioned-but-wrong-to-condone-homosexuality/2013/02/27/

But that does not make gay sex permissible or excusable. The Torah is very clear about that too. It is a very serious violation of biblical law. There is no way around that no matter how compassionate we try to be. It is for this reason that I oppose gay marriage. Because the implication of that is to place a public imprimatur on behavior that is sinful. It is in effect koshering a forbidden lifestyle. Making gay marriage not just value neutral but something positive.

This ignores the underlying sinful behavior – completely removing it from the category of sin. By definition marriage gives a societal blessing a gay couple implying that that gay sex is as moral as heterosexual sex. We are saying via legislation that we approve equally of both types of behavior. Gay marriage does not only permit gay sex – it virtually endorses it as a completely legitimate alternative to heterosexual sex.

I don’t blame gay people for wanting to be treated as completely normal in every way possible. No one likes to be stigmatized – even a little bit. The homosexual community wants the world to look at them in the same way as they look at heterosexuals. As complete equals living a sin free lifestyle – same as heterosexual.

Much as I feel for their plight and their desire to be treated as normal, treating gay sex a sin free sex is not what the Torah intended by forbidding it.

This has nothing to do with how to treat gay people. But it has everything to do with how we treat gay sex. We cannot say it’s OK to have gay sex when it is not.

http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/criminalizing-our-religious-beliefs/2003/06/13/

The great rabbis of the past generation fought the gay lobby. Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, wrote a letter demanding that everyone come to hearings on gay rights to protest. He, along with Rav Yaacov Kaminetsky, zt”l, Rav Shimon Schwab, zt”l and others, encouraged me to battle the efforts by gays to gain legitimacy and acceptance for their lifestyle.

[King_David]

77. I am not arguing or supporting them,

I am saying that Mondoweiss is anti American- Jewish , anti Bernie Sanders anti Hillary Clinton.

Mondoweiss has suported Anne Coulter and also Donald Trump.

[geek tragedy]

78. Jewishpress is racist, EXTREMELY rightwing, and homophobic.

It's anti-Clinton, anti-Sanders, anti-Obama, anti-people of color, anti-justice, anti-GLBT, anti-everything that liberals stand for.

It and its readers can all go to hell.

[King_David]

80. I don't read that publication

Mondoweiss hate is directed against American Jews such as myself

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1134121976#post79

[geek tragedy]

82. Swing and a miss.

Also, hypocritical to hyperventilate about Mondoweiss but dismiss objections to rightwing publications.

[Mosby]

83. You're on DU a lot

I agree with you about jewish press, I may have used it one or twice for news articles but I don't anymore because of their bias.

What I don't understand is why people like you don't say anything when anti-Semitic sites are posted here, king David mentioned one site, but it's a lot worse than just mondoweiss. Ifamericansknew, counterpunch, veterans today are just ones that I have seen recently. All of those sites publish anti-Semitic content.

There are very few standards for sourcing here anymore and it's the fault of the membership more than anything else, so just understand that when you go off about some opeds from jewish press but ignore filth from counterpunch and others it's hard to take you seriously.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025302886

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=thread&address=1016138416

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251397997

You even posted in this last one

[geek tragedy]

85. You were saying?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=463472

geek tragedy (52,695 posts)

42. Counterpunch is an insane, antisemitic crapfest of a magazine.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=116884

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027003793#post57

Star Member geek tragedy (52,695 posts)

57. Counterpunch is definitely anti-Semitic and anti-American

http://www.democraticunderground.com/125522269#post21

Note that you replied to the last comment.

Yup, like bigotry against Jews and extreme anti-zionism





Over the years they have featured anti-semites like Israel Shamir, Franklin Lamb, Alison Weir, Gilad Atzmon and Cynthia McKinney.

The web site is complete shit.

I guess this means you have to take me seriously now?

Happy new year!

[Mosby]

86. I kept looking at the counterpunch OPs

And just found that third one you linked to in your reply.

Thanks for speaking out.

[geek tragedy]

87. there were a few dustups over the Putin Fan Club at DU using Holocaust-denying websites

to support their arguments, including claims that most Ukrainians are Nazis, etc.

Back in 2005-2007, before the 9/11 Dungeon was created, lots and lots of the conspiracy whackos would cite Holocaust denial sites like rense

[shira]

88. Kahane called for killing Arabs. JewishPress doesn't do that.

Mondoweiss, OTOH, not only supports Hamas incitement to murder Jews, but defends their terrorist actions as legitimate resistance.

Which makes Mondoweiss far worse. They're fascists cheering on Nazi style incitement and murder of Jews.

[shira]

89. CNN and WSJ are reporting the same thing as JewishPress. Try again. n/t

[Purveyor]

31. President Obama is everything I had hoped for when it

comes to US/israel policy.

Sadly he only has another year to attempt to reign in the apartheid state and its minions.

[King_David]

37. Me too :

Obama :


As Bibi mentioned, this is our 10th meeting. We’ve spent more time together, working together, than I have with any leader. And this speaks to the closeness of our two nations, the interests and the values that we share, and the depth and breadth of the ties between our two peoples.

As leaders, our most solemn responsibility is the security of our people -- that’s job number one. My job as President of the United States, first and foremost, is to keep the American people safe. Bibi, as Prime Minister, your first task is to keep the people of Israel safe. And Israel’s security needs are truly unique, as I’ve seen myself. In past trips I visited villages near the Blue Line. I’ve walked through Israeli homes devastated by Hezbollah rockets. I’ve stood in Sderot, and met with children who simply want to grow up free from fear. And flying in today, I saw again how Israel’s security can be measured in mere miles and minutes.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/03/20/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-netanyahu-israel-joint-press-

[geek tragedy]

35. The NSA was spying on a foreign government, not Congress. Do pay attention.

To the extent the foreign power in question was directing communications into the United States, they were lawfully intercepted.

[OnyxCollie]

29. Snowden's revelations showed the NSA gave raw intel to Israel.

[underthematrix]

53. I'm so glad the NSA picked up the chatter between netanyahu and KKKGOP wo were

coducting an all out PR war against the President of the United States regarding the Iran DEal. I hope the NSA continues to collect data on Bibi the terrorist and the GOP House and senate members who were trying to derail the President's Iran deal. All of them traitors.

[6chars]

90. amazing

Those who would surrender their liberty for more security neither deserve liberty nor security.

[frizzled]

54. This could have been titled "Israeli lobby corrupts and manipulates US Congress"

The fact the US intercepts this stuff isn't really the interesting fact.

[Octafish]

71. As long as everybody's worshipping the Almighty Dollar, it's cool.

All on the same page, as Mark Foley would say.

[Faux pas]

84. Kickin' to read later.

[UpInArms]

91. is very simple

These people are elected to represent the citizens of what country?

Oh. Yeah .... the USA ...

not Israel

Meh