4 ms·
In this case it's not directed by the Israeli state; the Israeli state just doesn't really care, and doesn't want to interfere with the post-army job prospects
by azernik 5y ago
In this case it's not directed by the Israeli state; the Israeli state just doesn't really care, and doesn't want to interfere with the post-army job prospects of intelligence personnel.
- sva_ 5y ago> The Israeli minister of defence closely regulates NSO, granting individual export licences before its surveillance technology can be sold to a new country.
- azernik 5y agoAnd he's always going to say yes unless it's going to some truly extravagant abuser (e.g. North Korea), or to a customer that would cause diplomatic problems with the US (e.g. China... maybe). The state absolutely has the power to turn this into an instrument of foreign policy; it has chosen not to do so, in order to use it as an instrument of military-industrial policy. (To be clear - the Israeli state is absolutely the actor to put pressure on if you want this kind of thing to stop, and indeed bears moral responsibility. But the actions of these companies are not so closely tied to Israeli state interests as to make them immune to lawsuits abroad, or even in Israel if they violate Israeli law.)