Israel does not engage in espionage activity in the United States, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aryeh Mekel said Wednesday. Mekel told Ynet that he does not intend to address the alleged Kadish espionage affair, which he said goes back to the early 1980s.
However, Mekel noted that since the Pollard affair Israel has not been engaging in espionage activity in the United States. "Since 1985, the prime ministers' orders to refrain from engaging in this kind of activity have been strictly followed," he said.
"The US-Israel relationship has always been premised on true friendship as well as shared values and interests," he said.
| Spy Affair |
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| Lying worse than spying / Orly Azoulay |
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Washington more infuriated by cover-up attempts than by espionage charges, Orly Azoulay says |
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Meanwhile, officials in Jerusalem are assessing the implications of the Kadish affair. Senior officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have refrained from issuing an official response for the time being.
On Wednesday, Eitan Haber, who served as Defense Minister Yitzhak's Rabin aide during the Pollard Affair, told Ynet that "One would be a fool to believe that the publication of this affair at this time is a coincidence."
"I assume that the timing is not coincidental, and is aimed at sending a warning signal to the White House – and particularly to President Bush – that he should not dare consider releasing Pollard before he leaves office in January," Haber said.
Earlier, an official in Jerusalem said the new affair would overshadow the scheduled visits of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next week and that of US President George W. Bush in May. "Mostly, this decreases any chance of securing a pardon for Jonathan Pollard," he said.
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