Morning Note

Anyone who still thinks Israel is an ally of the United States should read this story.

The Pentagon has reportedly raised the counterintelligence threat level from the Israeli government to the highest bar. The designation comes amid concerns that Israel “is making a particular effort to surveil top U.S. officials to get information on the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East.” 

“Israel for years has had a reputation for aggressive espionage even against the U.S.,” NBC News reported in its exclusive article on Friday. “Top U.S. officials often take extra care when traveling to Israel, sometimes using burner phones and computers and taking extreme caution when speaking in hotel rooms during official trips,” the piece adds.

It would be hard to overstate how backward this is. The U.S. sends Israel billions of dollars each year, fights its wars, and unconditionally defends its government no matter how atrociously it behaves. Their spying on us in return is a national humiliation. It is past time for our leadership class to grow a spine and get this relationship under control.

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