World’s ‘Most
Wanted Man’ to Make First-Ever Public Appearance in Israel
Breaking Israel News
Latest News Biblical perspective
By David Brummer October 11, 2018, 12:10 pm
Call to me and I
will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not
known. Jeremiah 33:3 (The Israel Bible™)
Edward Snowden (Courtesy)
Five years ago, Edward Snowden became one of the world’s
most wanted men, after his massive intelligence leak hit the headlines.
The former CIA and NSA operative, who disclosed American
and British surveillance operations – stunning intelligence agencies worldwide,
is expected to speak at an Israeli conference in early November. The
conference, organized by Israeli media consulting firm OH! Orenstein Hoshen,
will host Snowden via a secure video-link from his secret hideout in Russia,
where he will answer questions put forward by the Israeli audience and is
expected to speak about issues pertaining specifically to Israel.
Former Mossad deputy director Ram Ben Barak, where he was
in charge of the “Keshet” department for obtaining intelligence via electronic
means, will respond to Snowden’s remarks. Barak has also served as director
general of Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence Services and the Ministry of
Strategic Affairs.
Snowden is a deeply controversial figure. He was known as
a “genius among geniuses” while working for some of the US’s most secret
intelligence agencies. In his last job, he was granted virtually unrestricted
access to all NSA data. Snowden became conflicted by serious personal doubts
regarding the NSA’s conduct.
“I made huge efforts to report these programs to my
colleagues and supervisors and anybody who had the appropriate approval, and
the response of those I told about the scale of the constitutional violations
ranged from very concerned to shocked but nobody was prepared to risk their
job, their family and perhaps even their freedom in order to undergo what was
required of such a revelation,” Snowden said in an interview in 2014.
Some revere him for his courage in revealing huge amounts
of classified information about how the US intelligence agency had collected
sensitive information on hundreds of millions of people worldwide through the
computer systems of tech and communications giants including Microsoft, Google
and Verizon. Others revile him as a traitor who sold out his country.
Whether he is a hero or a villain, the personal cost of
Snowden’s actions have been high. He is currently holed up in a secret hideaway
in Russia – where he has been for the last five years – and he could face
decades in prison or the death penalty if he ever returned to the United
States.
Despite the publication of much of the material that
Snowden took with him, there are reports that an enormous number of very
important stories remain unreported – some of which relate to the Middle East
and Israel.
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