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What the Shin Bet and Israeli Court Cannot Gag

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"The Shin Bet, you know, like the FBI and the Mossad, is like your CIA,"-Mordechai Vanunu explained to me in June 2005 during my first of seven trips to east Jerusalem. That was back when I was only an American citizen writing a book based on the memories of a Palestinian-American 1948 refugee from the Galilee. Three weeks after that first trip to Israel Palestine, I became a citizen journalist because somebody had to report what the media was ignoring

On March 27, 2010, the U.S. based, "Global News Service of the Jewish people" the JTA, Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Anat Kam, a 23 year old journalist has been held under secret house arrest by Israel since last December based on allegations that during her military service she leaked classified documents suggesting the Israeli Forces violated laws dealing with targeted killings.

Kam was arrested in December 2009 and charged under Israel's espionage and treason laws while she was working as a reporter for the Israeli site Walla, which had been partially owned by Haaretz until the week prior. The charges stem from when Kam served in the Israeli army, and it is alleged she photocopied sensitive documents.

"Bloggers speculated that the documents she allegedly photocopied served as the basis for a November 2008 article Haaretz story suggesting alleged army violations. Kam has denied the charges and her arrest has been under a gag order in Israel.

"The military censor, which prevents publication of information that could harm Israel's national security, approved the Haaretz story for publication. By contrast, Israeli courts have gagged not only the details of Kam's arrest, but news of the arrest itself." [1]

On April 1, 2010, The New York Times followed up with the JTA/Jewish Telegraphic Agency, because the JTA, "is not subject to the gag order...According to people familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the gag order, Kam is accused of copying classified documents while she was a soldier and leaking them to the Haaretz daily. The newspaper published a story that accused the military of defying an Israeli Supreme Court ruling against killing wanted Palestinian militants who could have been captured alive. A November 2008 Haaretz story suggested the military had unilaterally loosened its rules of engagement and marked militants for assassination"

"Despite the gag order, Israeli media appear to be well-acquainted with the case. Yediot Ahronot, another Israeli daily, hinted toward the brewing saga for the first time Thursday with a story headlined "What does the Shin Bet not want you to know?' and directing readers to the JTA's article on the Internet. The Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, declined to comment

"Israeli courts are typically wary of allowing publication of material deemed sensitive to national security. While the mainstream media formally comply with the rulings, they often get around restrictions by citing foreign reports, and material often finds its way to the blogosphere.

"The secrecy surrounding Kam's detention is reminiscent of the arrest of Mordechai Vanunu [who] was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence agents in Rome and taken back to Israel to stand trial behind closed doors. Some details of the Vanunu affair are still under wraps domestically." [2]

Haaretz's has filed a request to lift the gag order and court is scheduled for April 12, 2010 to hear the plea regarding the Kam affair.

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Eileen Fleming,is a Citizen of CONSCIENCE for US House of Representatives 2012 Founder of WeAreWideAwake.org Staff Member of Salem-news.com, A Feature Correspondent for Arabisto.com Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu" (more...)
 
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