The Israel Lobby Archive home |about | news | search | donate | IRmep Caden Energix Hickory, LLC in Chesapeake, VA is the US subsidiary of Energix, a UN Human Rights Commission designated company City of Chesapeake and Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality permit process docket and human rights reports Regulators have not properly weighed the moral hazard of licensing a project with problematic foreign ultimate beneficial owners alleged by UNHCR to routinely engage in overseas human rights violations. VIAB Southwest Region Director Aviva Frye also worked for Energix, an Israeli solar energy company owned by Alony Hetz Aviva Frye used her influence as a government official at VIAB to get meetings inside Virginia's government to push Energix solar power at Mineral Gap Data Center. Suddenly, a hip, new company called Sun Tribe Solar gets the deal. Sun Tribe employees like dogs, cycling and are young and diverse. But some of Sun Tribe's deals are incredibly predatory, geared to sell millions in electricity over production generated on public property to local utilities through "net metering." What's really going on? VIAB Vice Chair Charles "Chuck" Lessin engages in self-dealing, fails, then strikes a corrupt deal with Tobacco Commission Appalachian Biofuels LLC was a limited liability company owned by Virginia Israel Advisory Board Vice Chairman Charles "Chuck" Lessin. Lessin obtained an ethics waiver from the Virginia Attorney General in order to obtain a $565,000 Tobacco Commission grant to refine biodiesel in a vacant facility in St. Paul, Virginia. The venture failed, but Lessin kept $210,000 after Tobacco Commission Executive Director Evan Feinman gave him a sweetheart deal. The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board: Taxpayer funds for secret Israeli business projects in Virginia - "Project Jonah" "Jonah" is a project VIAB kept secret since 2013. The Israeli fish farm company AquaMaof has landed $1.5 million in state funds and hopes to obtain millions more in grants and low interest loans. It may displace an innovative home grown fish farm that long ago proved the viability of recirculating aquaculture in Virginia. Meet VIAB: Virginia's Taxpayer-Funded Israel Lobby The Virginia Israel Advisory Board is funded by Virginia taxpayers, unlike most privately-funded state chambers of commerce dedicated to increasing economic ties between the U.S. and Israel. The Jewish federations from which large number of VIAB board members are drawn attempted to rewrite state textbooks on behalf of Israel. VIAB fights the BDS movement, while securing state funding and grants for Israeli companies. Ten-Year Memorandums of Understanding for US Aid to Israel 2009-2018 and 2019-2028 memorandums of understanding. US unconditional aid packages for Israel obtained via the Freedom of Information Act. Do MOU's incentivize war? Direct Mail Fundraising Material - Israel Affinity Organizations Israel affinity organizations (IAOs) conduct massive direct mail fundraising campaigns that raise billions of dollars in the United States. Common fundraising themes include protecting Israel as a lone democracy surrounded by threats in a "bad neighborhood," the United Nations as a perpetual obstacle to Israeli initiatives, and the need for Americans to urge their legislators to provide ever-larger amounts of taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel. The Big Israel database of Israel Affinity Organizations (IAOs) The Israel Affinity Organizations (IAOs) that demand unconditional support for Israel in America may be categorized into four major groups: Advocacy IAOs that push Congress for US aid.Subsidy IAOs that fund a partner or partner organization in Israel. Education & Training IAOs that internally promote Zionism and externally promote Israel Funding & Local Political Action IAOs that raise funds and quietly lobby state and local governments. Together, these IAOs make up the nonprofit sector of the Israel lobby in America. Data and forecast from the 2016 book Big Israel: How Israel's Lobby Moves America FBI files reveal "Joyous Celebration" during 9/11 World Trade Center attack On September 11, 2001 five employees of a moving van company called "Urban Moving Systems" were apprehended hours after the twin towers were struck. An eyewitness saw them celebrating the attacks on the World Trade Center from the window of her apartment building.They emerged from a white van, jumped up and down, and high-fived each other with apparent glee. Israeli Intelligence Officer tracked by FBI in New York Itzhak (aka Yitzhak) Vardi's intelligence operations for Israel in England put him on an FBI watch list as he traveled throughout New York. As he worked at high levels within the Palestine Economic Corporation and United Jewish Appeal, the FBI tried to determine his status as an intelligence agent. An operation in Argentina suggests Vardi never retired. Israel's First American Smuggling Network Newly declassified reports from Naval Intelligence reveal previously unknown details about how the Jewish Agency illegally smuggled war surplus from the United States to Jewish fighters in Palestine. FBI investigated the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for espionage. Espionage investigation confirmed for the very first time. Records indicate the investigation terminated before key targets were interviewed after heavy Israeli government lobbying. Criminal investigation and successful civil lawsuit against the ADL over privacy right violations Forty-year ADL undercover agent Roy Bullock was in charge of penetrating Arab and anti-Apartheid groups in California. Bullock began working for Apartheid South Africa's intelligence services and obtaining driver's licenses and social security numbers from a corrupt San Francisco police officer. A criminal investigation led the FBI and SF police straight to the ADL which paid tens of thousands to victims without admitting wrongdoing—while agreeing to never violate American privacy rights again. Convicted gun-runner for Israel Hank Greenspun parlays smuggling kickbacks into a Las Vegas media empire FBI files on attempted obstruction of justice, weapons smuggling, and mob associations of the combative editor of the Las Vegas Sun. Author and entrepreneur Norman F. Dacey demanded that the Justice and State Department take warranted action on credible allegations of Israeli arms smuggling and espionage. Both agencies find excuses to do nothing. The State Department even suggests that Dacey hire a lawyer at his own expense to review defunct arms export control agencies and laws. NUMEC Diversion Files Leaked accounts from the CIA Directorate of Operations and other files obtained from National Archives presidential libraries, congressional testimony, and FBI investigations. 800 Nuclear Triggers Smuggled to Israel, Mastermind Untouchable– Secret FBI Files An espionage ring smuggled 800 krytrons to the Israeli Ministry of Defense for use in the clandestine Israeli nuclear weapons program according to newly declassified FBI files. The secret documents were originally scheduled for public release in the year 2036, but were obtained under appeal to the Justice Department. The files reveal new details about the failed effort to indict the nuclear smuggling ring's masterminds. Report of Audit Illicit Israeli military technology transfers continued unabated as the US State Department's inspection regime was undermined from within by turf wars and infighting, Release of Inspector General Sherman M. Funk's newly declassified 1992 "Report of Audit." The Israel lobby Rubik's Cube The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) pioneered tactical shifts of parent/subsidiary and corporate shells that were later copied by the AZC, AIPAC, Jewish Agency and Isaiah L. Kenen to avoid registering as Israeli foreign agents. Israeli False Flag Attack on U.S. Motivated 1963 Senate Investigations Newly declassified documents reveal that fears of false flag and foreign funded covert operations designed to influence U.S. policy drove the Senate to investigate foreign agents between 1961-1963. FBI News Clipping Files: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2005 Espionage Case The Israel Lobby Archive obtained 405 pages from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act. The released documents are news clippings maintained by the FBI during its espionage investigation of Department of Defense Colonel Lawrence Franklin and AIPAC staffers Keith Weissman and Steven J. Rosen. The Mobsters who Funded AIPAC Disclosure forms and subpoenaed documents filed by AIPAC and its predecessor organizations (the AZC and AZCPA) reveal organized crime figures such as "Jake the Barber," "Meyer Lansky's right-hand-man" Aaron Weisberg, arms smuggler associate Zimel Resnick, and Israeli nuclear bomb funding coordinator Abraham Feinberg all provided critical and timely start-up funding to AIPAC as it morphed through shell corporations. Alleged Spy Nozette stung by the FBI The FBI arrested Stewart Nozette on October 19, 2009 and charged him with attempted espionage. Case files reveal Nozette's close relationship with Israeli Aerospace Industries, impersonation of a colleague's email account to gain access to classified information and transport of USB thumb drives overseas. GAO Finds Investigations of Israeli Weapons Grade Uranium Diversions "Inadequate" In 1977 chair of the House of Representatives subcommittee on Energy and Power John D. Dingell requested an investigation to determine whether weapons grade uranium had been illegally diverted from the US into a clandestine Israeli nuclear weapons program. In the early 1960s, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) began documenting suspicious lapses in security at the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) in Pennsylvania. In 1965 an Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) audit found that NUMEC could no longer account for 220 pounds of highly enriched uranium. The amount of missing uranium could “make at least four or five nuclear weapons” according to the report. In 1966 the FBI opened an investigation code-named DIVERT and began monitoring NUMEC’s management and large numbers of Israeli visitors. On Sept. 10, 1968, four Israelis visited NUMEC’s president to "discuss thermoelectric devices with [Zalman] Shapiro," according to correspondence from NUMEC’s security manager seeking official AEC consent for an Israeli visit. Among the approved visitors was Rafael Eitan. After Eitan’s visit, 587 pounds of highly enriched uranium was classified as missing. The GAO investigation was chartered to discover whether: 1. “The material was illegally diverted to Israel by NUMEC management for use in nuclear weapons.” 2. “The material was diverted to Israel by NUMEC management with the assistance of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).” 3. “The material was diverted to Israel with the acquiescence of the United States Government.” 4. GAO inquired whether “there has been a cover-up of the NUMEC incident by the United States Government.” Report FBI Investigates the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for espionage and theft of government property. AIPAC Employee Indicted for Espionage Sues Former Employer April 8, 2009 On March 2, 2009 former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) foreign policy chief Steve Rosen filed a civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Rosen accuses his former employer, directors, and outside public relations firm of libel and slander. In August 2005, Steve Rosen, fellow AIPAC employee Keith Weissman, and the Pentagon’s Col. Lawrence Franklin were indicted under the Espionage Act for allegedly trafficking classified U.S. national defense information in the interest of provoking a stronger U.S. posture toward Israel’s arch nemesis, Iran. The Rosen lawsuit, published here for the first time on the Internet, provides key insights into AIPAC's acquisition and handling of classified US national defense information. Israeli Nukes, US Foreign Aid and the Symington Amendment March 31, 2009 In 2008 the US Army and former president Jimmy Carter both confirmed what the world has long suspected: The State of Israel has secretly financed, built and deployed an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The Congress and US presidents have long operated under a policy of "strategic ambiguity", publicly denying the existence of nuclear weapons. But can this policy hold, in light of new evidence? The Jewish Agency and US Foreign Agents After years of Senate and law enforcement investigations the Department of Justice ordered the Jewish Agency to file its secret 1953 Covenant Agreement with the Israeli government in 1969. The Covenant agreement reveals the Jewish Agency's ongoing receipt of Israeli government funds for operations and powers such as executive review of legislative matters before they go to the Knesset. The Jewish Agency New York office, like AIPAC's predecessor the AZC, quickly shut down only to reorganize under a new US shell corporation in 1971. In 2009 the Jewish Agency foreign agent question again looms large as Dennis Ross attempts to secure a critical position as US envoy to Iran. AIPAC Founder's Newly Declassified Foreign Agent File Reveals Shift to Stealth Lobbying November 24, 2008Six decades ago Americans working as registered Israeli foreign agents launched New York, Washington and Los Angeles "Israel Office of Information (IOI)" branches. Newly declassified records document IOI actions that forever changed foreign government lobbying on Capitol Hill as IOI director Isaiah L. Kenen shifted Israel lobbying away from FARA oversight into stealth foreign lobbying from the American Zionist Council. October 27, 2008 Secret DOJ Battle with AIPAC's Parent Organization Presenting the internal file archive of the 1962-1965 DOJ attempt to register the American Zionist Council as agents of a foreign government. The chronology provides perspective about how delays, leadership changes, and lobby requests for secrecy resulted in America's first nonpublic Foreign Agents Registration Act declaration: declassified in June of 2008. October 17, 2008 Israel Lobby's Secret US Public Relations Plan In the early 1960's, Israel funneled more than $5 million into US propaganda and lobbying operations. The funding, equivalent to more than $35 million in today's dollars, was laundered from the quasi governmental Jewish Agency into an Israel lobby umbrella group, the American Zionist Council. The two page master plan was subpoenaed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and entered into hearing records on the activities of foreign agents in the United States. August 1, 2007 AIPAC Directs Political Action Committee Candidate Donations In 1988, internal memos reveal AIPAC directing Political Action Committee donations to preferred candidates in violation of its tax-exempt nonprofit status. Print Publication AIPAC's Battle with the DOJ - DECLASSIFIED Documents the transition of a public relations employee of the Israeli Foreign Ministry to founder of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee or AIPAC. Provides analysis and all key documents of how the DOJ ordered the American Zionist Council to register as Israel's foreign agent in 1962, and the subsequent transfer of AZC operations to AIPAC. Title Page, Table of Contents, Exhibits The Virginia Israel Advisory Board's super-secret "Project Jonah" Project Jonah is a secret fish farm project developed since 2013 by VIAB. First intended to grow tilapia, after millions in Virginia state investment it has pivoted to salmon. The Israeli company behind the venture has now been unmasked. It is Aquamaof which plans to build a plant bigger than any it's ever run, while being sued overseas for mismanagement and incompetence. The Israel Lobby Enters State Government: Rise of the Virginia Israel Advisory BoardThis paperback, Kindle and audio book and chronicles the formation, rise and secret activities of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB). While other books have focused on the Israel lobby’s influence over the federal government and U.S. foreign policy, there has been little research on Israel lobbying at the state level. Using sensitive documents acquired under Virginia’s sunshine law, this book argues that in Virginia the Israel lobby is no longer on the outside, but has now entered state government. The Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) is presently the only state government entity in the U.S. focused entirely on bringing corporations in from a single foreign country. The book explores how millions in taxpayer and other state funds are quietly being diverted from multiple sources to establish profitable Israeli companies in Virginia. The corporations are involved in military contracting, food and beverage manufacturing, energy generation, waste management and aquaculture. The author analyzes how VIAB projects displace workers and put home-grown market leaders out of business. By unmasking Israeli businesses launching operations that VIAB protects under code-names and opaque shell companies to secretly transact business in Virginia, the book exposes the reason behind some of the secrecy—their extensive business dealings in territory illegally occupied by Israel. The author delves into the establishment of VIAB by the state’s Jewish federations, and their continued involvement as VIAB board members, as well as their attempts to rewrite school textbooks and quash through new laws speech critical of Israel. Smith exposes who is running VIAB, how they leverage political campaign contributions, and the bankruptcy of VIAB’s many claims that their dealings are advancing the prosperity of working Virginians—as opposed to Israeli companies and VIAB insiders. He probes the true nature of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board and the future threat if similar Israel lobby entities proliferate within other state governments. Israel advocacy groups demand questionable changes to Virginia textbooks A consortium of state and national Israel advocacy groups has sent a detailed set of requested changes to textbooks and teaching guides used in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Requested changes include:1. Deletion of references to Israel “occupying” territories captured during the 1967 Six-Day War and substituting “controlled.” International conventions clearly outline the responsibility of occupying powers and the illegality of collective punishment and population transfers.2. Changes to maps to recognize Israel’s declared “annexation” of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The U.S. and most other countries do not officially recognize Israeli annexation of either territory.3. Substitution of references to “occupied territories” to “captured areas.” 4. Substitution of references to “Jewish settlers” and “settlements” with “building of homes and communities.” 5. Deletion of a lesson reviewing a video documentary by Iranian-American religious studies scholar, author, producer and television host Reza Aslan.6. Deletion of an activity based on reading the biography and work of Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi.7. Substitution of an editorial cartoon titled “The Mideast Peace Game Rules” with a cartoon of an Arab suicide terrorist holding a “Road Map to Peace” game hostage. The Israel Lobby's Impact on America-Video Guest lecturer Grant F. Smith discusses key points developed in his new book, Big Israel: How Israel's Lobby Moves America, while providing insight into likely Israel lobby demands on the next administration. Smith is the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc. Agenda items included: 1. W… truncated (13,198 more characters in archive)