Boundaries Blur for Communal Leaders, Israeli Officials

[seemslikeadream]

By Ori Nir
September 10, 2004

WASHINGTON — A handful of Jewish communal officials were summoned about one year ago to the Israeli Embassy in Washington for a briefing on Iran.

The meeting featured a computerized presentation from Israeli diplomats pointing to Iran as the party responsible for the 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish community center, which killed 86 people.

The evidence seemed compelling.

After the presentation, an Israeli diplomat asked the Jewish communal officials in attendance to lobby Congress for an investigation into Iran's role in the bombing. Several of the Jewish activists in the room were taken aback by the request, and asked why Israeli officials didn't simply approach lawmakers themselves.

Israeli officials, in response, hinted that the evidence was the product of secretly obtained intelligence — and, hence, they were unable to adopt such a direct approach toward Congress.
more
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=nir20040909328



This is a fascinating story and I have been impressed with the Forward's coverage. From a recent series of stories there, it would seem this is partly a story about how lines between outreach and real lobbying of desired positions by the Israeli government were crossed in the wake of 9/11 and the increasingly permissive environment the Bush administration created for such behavior. But, other reports have indicated that the FBI counterintelligence investigation seemingly pre-dates the 9/11 attacks themselves and that Rice and Hadley were informed of such an investigation shortly after Bush came into office. What was that investigation's origin? What spurred it?
http://www.warandpiece.com/