US inaction toward Israeli covert bots mission deemed 'hypocritical'
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Based on historical precedent, it's unlikely that a US ally like "Israel" would face significant consequences for funding an illicit influence campaign in the US, which Ben Freeman sees as problematic.
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US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 (AFP)
Recent reports in Western media outlets have uncovered covert efforts by "Israel" aimed at influencing US public opinion and policy. On this issue, Ben Freeman, the director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute, posed a question in an analysis piece published by Responsible Statecraft on Friday: "Will Washington respond just as forcefully to a similar campaign orchestrated by an American ally? Don’t count on it."
Such campaigns, detailed in publications like The Guardian and The New York Times, highlighted extensive campaigns such as "Concert", which seeks to redefine antisemitism in US law and targets US college campuses. These revelations have sparked comparisons and raised questions about the potential consequences and responses from US policymakers.
The author cites parallels to alleged Russian interference tactics that triggered extensive investigations and indictments, yet Freeman doubts a comparable response from Washington.
Dive deeper
The Israeli government has been running a covert $8.6 million campaign, known as "Concert", aimed at silencing its critics in the United States, The Guardian revealed on Monday.
The initiative forms part of a broader effort to influence US college campuses and reshape the definition of antisemitism in US law, as per the report. Similar tactics were previously detailed in a New York Times report on June 5, which described a $2 million clandestine social media campaign funded by "Israel" to sway American policymakers into supporting its military agenda.
The strategy bears resemblance to methods allegedly employed by Russian operatives in an alleged influence operation during the 2016 US election, which Russia repeatedly denied. The Russian effort reportedly involved the use of fake social media accounts posing as Americans to manipulate US political discourse, the piece claimed, sparking widespread condemnation from policymakers and the media, prompting extensive investigations that eventually led to the indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three companies for their alleged role in the operation.
Freeman gushes that in the more than three weeks since the Times story went viral, only a few policymakers admitted that the Israeli government was, in fact, behind an influence campaign targeting US politicians. And just one member of Congress, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), has mentioned it on social media.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who was targeted at least 88 times by the campaign, told Politico, "I want to know exactly what was done by whom and who was contacted."
Politico reported that despite Blumenthal's outrage, "over a dozen other lawmakers targeted in the campaign did not respond to a request for comment." Wired also noted that apart from the White House's National Security Council denying knowledge and Senator Mark Warner's office requesting a briefing, ”press inquiries concerning Israel’s attempts to secretly influence US opinion on the war have been met with a stonewall.”
US' two sets of laws
Freeman contends that the Biden administration briefly addressed the issue during a State Department press briefing the same day the article was published. When asked about comparisons to actions by Iran, Russia, and China, spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to comment on the specific allegations but emphasized that the United States has strict laws against foreign influence campaigns, which are rigorously enforced and expected to be followed by all parties involved.
"Miller is, unfortunately, only half right. We do have very clear laws in the US about foreign influence campaigns — most notably the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) — but we do not expect everyone to comply with them. When it comes to regulating foreign influence in America there are, in reality, two sets of laws: one for America’s perceived friends and one for its enemies," as per Freeman.
Freeman reminds us that when adversaries of the United States engage in wrongdoing on US soil, they are typically held accountable with severe consequences. For instance, in 2023, a think tank executive accused of allegedly promoting Chinese interests and violating US sanctions on Iran was arrested and charged with multiple offenses, including failure to register under FARA. If convicted, she could potentially face a sentence of up to 100 years in prison. Similarly, following the 2016 election interference, 13 Russians and three Russian companies were indicted for FARA violations and other offenses, with many still wanted by the FBI.
According to the Department of Justice, since their initial indictment, eleven additional individuals linked to alleged Russian influence operations have been charged with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) or the related statute, 18 U.S.C. § 951.
In Freeman's view, the US response to the malign actions of America’s “friends” is quite different.
America's 'friends'
As Freeman puts it, the United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated in conducting covert influence operations within the United States, as detailed in a classified report by US intelligence officials reported by The Washington Post. Despite these actions, instead of facing repercussions, the UAE has seen an increase in military cooperation with the US and has employed more former high-ranking US military personnel than any other country, including traditional US allies.
Similarly, Saudi Arabia has avoided consequences for its activities on US soil. Despite evidence linking the Saudi government to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US has withheld public release of pertinent information for over two decades. Recent allegations also suggest that Saudi Arabia operates a network within the US to assist its citizens accused of serious crimes to evade justice. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has been implicated in using social media bot networks.
Freeman questions how the Biden administration plans to address these numerous offenses by Saudi Arabia. He criticized the administration's approach of proposing a security pact with Saudi Arabia, which would involve US troops potentially risking their lives to defend the Kingdom, as part of a broader normalization agreement with "Israel".
"If history is any indication, a U.S. ally like Israel is unlikely to face any real punishment for allegedly financing an illicit influence operation in the U.S. And that is a problem. If America does not effectively punish and discourage illicit influence operations orchestrated by America’s so-called friends, we embolden America’s enemies to adopt these same tactics," he said.
"For this reason, if we’re committed to combating malign foreign influence in the U.S., we must hold our enemies and allies accountable when they illegally meddle in our nation’s business. No country, including Israel, is above the law," Freeman concluded.
