Allies spy on allies. Everyone in intelligence knows it, but the public hates to admit it. When it comes to Israel and the United States, the espionage trail isn’t rumor—it’s court records, DOJ press releases, and declassified intelligence assessments. For decades, Israel has run some of the most aggressive collection efforts inside America, and Washington has responded with a mix of prosecutions, cover-ups, and shrugs.
Here’s some of the documented history, stripped of spin.
The Pollard Affair
The name Jonathan Jay Pollard still echoes in counterintelligence circles. Pollard was a Navy intelligence analyst who, between 1984 and 1985, passed highly classified documents to Israel’s LAKAM unit. In 1986 he pled guilty to conspiracy to deliver national defense information to a foreign government.
In 1987 he was sentenced to life in prison, one of the stiffest sentences ever handed to an American spying for an ally (D.C. Circuit opinion). His Israeli handler Aviem Sella was indicted but never extradited. The mastermind, Rafi Eitan, headed LAKAM, which was disbanded in the scandal’s aftermath.
Pollard spent three decades in prison, paroled in 2015, and had his restrictions lifted in 2020. Israel later embraced him as a hero, granting him citizenship.
Ben-Ami Kadish: The Quiet Sequel
In 2008, the FBI arrested Ben-Ami Kadish, a retired mechanical engineer who worked at a U.S. Army research center in New Jersey. Between 1980 and 1985, Kadish had passed classified documents on missile systems and nuclear weapons to—astonishingly—the same Israeli official tied to Pollard: Yossi Yagur.
Kadish pled guilty to conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of Israel. He was fined $50,000 and received no prison time, largely because of his age. It was a quiet echo of Pollard, but it confirmed a pattern: this wasn’t a one-off operation.
Franklin and the AIPAC Collapse
The 2000s brought the Lawrence Franklin case, where a Pentagon analyst leaked classified information on Iran to two senior AIPAC officials—Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman—and to an Israeli diplomat.
Franklin pled guilty in 2005 under the Espionage Act and was sentenced to over 12 years (later reduced). Rosen and Weissman, however, became the center of a sensational trial. The DOJ tried to prosecute them under the Espionage Act—an extraordinary move against lobbyists—but in 2009, prosecutors dropped all charges.
The collapse of the AIPAC case stands as one of the most glaring examples of politics derailing espionage prosecutions.
The Nozette Sting
In 2009, the FBI launched an undercover sting against Stewart Nozette, a scientist with deep ties to U.S. nuclear and space programs. Agents posed as Mossad operatives. Nozette quickly agreed to sell classified secrets for cash.
In 2011 he pled guilty to attempted espionage and was sentenced to 13 years in prison (DOJ press release).
Israel wasn’t actually involved—the “handlers” were FBI agents—but the fact the FBI used Mossad as bait says a lot about credibility.
Procurement and Nuclear Secrets
Espionage isn’t always cloak-and-dagger. Sometimes it’s paperwork and exports.
- Richard Kelly Smyth, head of a California company, illegally exported krytrons—nuclear triggers—to Israel in the 1980s. He fled, was arrested in 2001, and pled guilty to export violations (Los Angeles Times coverage).
- Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan later admitted he had been part of Israel’s clandestine procurement network, helping funnel sensitive U.S. technology into Israeli weapons programs.
And before that, in the 1960s, there was NUMEC—a Pennsylvania plant where highly enriched uranium went missing. CIA and Atomic Energy Commission officials long suspected it ended up in Israel. The case was never prosecuted, but declassified memos show the suspicions.
What U.S. Intelligence Really Thinks
For anyone tempted to dismiss these as relics of the Cold War, the U.S. intelligence community has said otherwise.
- A 2008 NSA memo, revealed by Edward Snowden and published by The Guardian, described Israel as a “good SIGINT partner” but admitted: “they target us to learn our positions” on Middle East issues.
- A National Intelligence Estimate ranked Israel as the third most aggressive intelligence service against the United States, behind only China and Russia.
This is not internet rumor—it’s the official assessment of American intelligence agencies.
Spyware: The 21st Century Front
Today’s espionage is digital, and Israel’s role continues.
- In 2021, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted NSO Group and Candiru, citing their role in surveillance of U.S. persons (Federal Register notice).
- In 2024, the Treasury Department sanctioned Intellexa, another Israeli-linked spyware consortium, for targeting Americans, including U.S. officials.
The message was clear: Israeli-linked surveillance firms aren’t just shady—they’re national security threats.
Allegations That Didn’t Stick
Some claims remain “officially” unproven.
- The “Israeli art students” of 2001: DEA documented suspicious door-to-door visits near federal offices. DOJ said there was no substantiated espionage (DEA memo coverage).
- Alleged Israeli telecom backdoors (Amdocs, Comverse): heavily reported post-9/11, but no charges or official findings ever confirmed them (Fox News archive).
The Pattern
Put all this together, and the picture is plain:
- Classic espionage: Pollard, Kadish, Franklin, Nozette.
- Illegal procurement: Smyth, Milchan, possibly NUMEC.
- Intelligence assessments: Israel ranked as one of the top collectors against the U.S.
- Modern cyber: NSO, Candiru, Intellexa sanctioned for targeting Americans.
The U.S. has prosecuted when it could, quietly dropped cases when it couldn’t, and buried scandals when politics demanded it.
Conclusion
Allies spy on allies. That’s the way of the world. But the United States has spent decades pretending Israel doesn’t spy on it. That’s the lie.
From stolen nuclear secrets to aggressive lobbying pipelines, from FBI stings to modern spyware hacks, the history is public and undeniable. Court dockets, declassified documents, and sanctions lists tell the story.
The real scandal isn’t that Israel spies—it’s that the American public is told it doesn’t happen.
Bibliography (selected, authoritative sources)
Court cases and filings
- United States v. Pollard, 959 F.2d 1011 (D.C. Cir. 1992).
- Plea Agreement, United States v. Pollard, No. 86-0207 (D.D.C. June 4, 1986).
- Sentencing Transcript, United States v. Pollard, No. 86-0207 (D.D.C. Mar. 4, 1987).
- United States v. Kadish, No. 08 Cr. 0265 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (Plea Agreement, Dec. 2008).
- DOJ, Press Release, “Engineer Pleads Guilty to Acting as an Unregistered Agent of the Government of Israel” (Dec. 30, 2008).
- United States v. Franklin, No. 1:05-cr-225 (E.D. Va. 2005) (Guilty Plea).
- DOJ, Motion to Dismiss, United States v. Rosen & Weissman, No. 1:05-cr-225 (E.D. Va. May 1, 2009).
- United States v. Nozette, No. 1:09-cr-00282 (D.D.C. 2011) (Plea Agreement, Sept. 2011; Judgment, Jan. 2012).
- DOJ, Press Release, “Scientist Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Attempted Espionage” (Jan. 6, 2012).
- United States v. Smyth, No. CR 82-000XX (C.D. Cal. 1985; plea after extradition 2001).
Government documents and declassified records
- CIA, Damage Assessment in the Jonathan Jay Pollard Case (Redacted, 1987; declassified 2012).
- National Security Archive, “The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Go to Israel?” (2010, declassified memos).
- NSA, “U.S.–Israel SIGINT Relationship” (2008), published via The Guardian (2013, Snowden documents).
Secondary sources
- Scott Shane, “In Spy Case, Plea Agreement Averts Trial,” New York Times, Dec. 31, 2008.
- Jeff Stein, “The AIPAC Spy Case: What Went Wrong,” Washington Post, May 1, 2009.
- Arnon Milchan interview, “Arnon Milchan Admits He Was Israeli Operative,” Los Angeles Times, Nov. 26, 2013.
- Dan Raviv & Yossi Melman, Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars (2012).
- Victor Gilinsky & Roger J. Mattson, “Revisiting the NUMEC Affair,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 66:2 (2010).
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Federal Register Notice, “Addition of Certain Entities to the Entity List” (Nov. 2021) (NSO Group, Candiru).
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, “Treasury Sanctions Actors Involved in Cyberespionage Targeting U.S. Officials” (Mar. 5, 2024).