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(U) Lost in Jerusalem After Dark
FROM: Cindy Farkus
Assistant Deputy Director for Analysis & Production (S2)
Run Date: 03/27/2006
(TS//SI) NSA group travels to Israel; SID's relationship with ISNU is probably its most important
Third Party tie.
(TS//SI) Many of you are probably aware that NSA has conducted a sensitive, unique, and
productive SIGINT relationship with the Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU), a segment of the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF), for several decades. Like most SIGINT relationships, the NSA-ISNU
partnership is not without its intricate technical problems and sensitive political issues. But over
the years the exchange has evolved into probably the most important relationship within NSA's
Third Party program. For example, approximately 20 percent of the SIGINT product produced by
NSA's Office of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been, in some fashion, enabled by
ISNU. It is viewed as the most productive and beneficial Third-Party partnership conducted
within the US Intelligence Community.
(TS//SI) The first week in March, a group of us (see footnote) traveled to Israel for our first
annual Strategic Conference with ISNU.
(U) The preparation we did in advance enabled all of us to gain a broader understanding of the
intricacies of this relationship. The blend of S3, S2, SSG, and FAD participants in the conference
enhanced collaboration across Agency elements.
(TS//SI) After a very long flight,
and I arrived in Tel Aviv early on 26
February. We didn't want to fall asleep, so we walked to the cify of Jaffa and were awakened by
the sense of history and beautiful landscape. Jaffa is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea and
the historic gateway into Israel. It is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, once as the port-ofentry for the cedars of Lebanon for Solomon's Temple and once as the place from where the
prophet Jonah embarked for Tarshish. After exploring the Jaffa museum, we stumbled upon a
quaint Middle Eastern restaurant, Aladdin, set in a 600-year old building overlooking the sea
with a spectacular view of the Tel Aviv coastline. Later that day other members with our party
arrived, and our Senior Liaison Officer (SLO),
graciously hosted us at her
apartment. We enjoyed a wonderful view of the city, great food and fellowship, and were
"entertained" by
two rambunctious kittens.
(U) Port city of Jaffa
(TS//SI) We walked up to the U.S. Embassy on Monday to give our team an opportunity to
discuss the conference and iron out any last minute details. That evening, our ISNU
counterparts hosted a dinner at El-Hambra, a local restaurant, where we dined on typical Israeli
cuisine. The food was delicious and abundant, so it was good that we walked back to our hotel.
(TS//SI) The conference opened on 28 February with remarks from the ISNU Deputy Director,
followed by discussions on their SIGINTdoctrine, requirements, structural changes within ISNU,
and challenges facing their nation. The teams discussed the US/IS partnership and CP, MENA,
and CT gave their presentations. The second day of the conference consisted of briefings on the
infrastructure and drafting our declaration of the SIGINT strategies we will focus on in the
coming year. At the end of the second day, ISNU Commander BG Dani Harari, joined us and
thanked NSA for the partnership. He commented that to achieve the best communication means
better collaboration. He stated that a lot of progress has been made and thanked the team for
coming to the conference.
(TS//SI) Before our return, we were hosted by our partners on a cultural tour. Four of the ISNU
members, with M-16's in tow, picked us up at our hotel and took us to a place called Mini-Israel.
A tour of this park gave us a bird's eye view of all the outstanding locations in Israel. The park
was made up of miniature buildings, people, and scenery - even down to moving airplanes at
the little airport.
(U) Tour of Mini-Israel
(TS//SI) After this they took us to Yad Vashem, Israel's national institution of Holocaust
commemoration, where our tour guide gave us an excellent and sobering tour of their newest
museum. We had obtained permission from the Embassy to be in old-town Jerusalem "after
dark." We had been driving for a bit and you could tell our hosts were a bit upset about
something. We were lost in the Arab sector - and after several stops to ask for directions we
found our next stop - a restaurant called Anna Ticho.
(TS//SI) After our meal they took us to the Jewish sector of Old Jerusalem - the Western
(Wailing) Wall. Because of our delay getting to dinner, we missed our English-speaking tour of
the tunnels under the Western Wall. But we were able to catch the last Hebrew-speaking tour
and our ISNU guides translated for us as we went along. It was an amazing, indescribable
opportunity and we were in awe of the ancient ruins and the traditions that to this day honor the
individual faiths and beliefs all held in that one place.
(U) Visiting the Western Wall
(TS//SI) Rick Ledgett will hold an NSA/SID-ISNU forum in the Friedman Auditorium on 29
March, 0900-1030. This session will introduce Rick's efforts to understand the totality of SID's
involvement with various aspects of the ISNU, in an effort to document where we are
corporately in the relationship. See the announcement on SID today . You are all invited to
attend the Friedman session.
Thanks for reading!
(TS//SI) Footnote:
Our party included:
Acting Deputy Director for Data Acquisition/ISNU SID representative, Rick Ledgett
Assistant Deputy Director for Analysis and Production/Senior Intelligence Authority,
Cindy Farkus
FAD Deputy Assistant for SIGINT Operations, Dave Sherman
Combating Proliferation (CP) Global Capabilities Manger (GCM), Jon Darby
MENA Primary Production Center Manager (PPCM)
Counterterrorism (CT) PPCM,
Chief of the Target Analysis Center,
Israel Country Desk Officer (CDO),
Acting DDDA's Executive Assistant,
A/DDAP's Executive Assistant,
ISNU Participants:
Bgen. Dani Harari - Commander, ISNU
Col. Nadav Zafrir - Deputy Commander, ISNU
Col. Moti Ben Mocha - Head of the COMINT Center
- Head of the CSE Center
Col. Jacob Shama - Head of the CA Center
- Head of Location Based SIGINT Center
- Head of the Foreign Relations Branch
Ltc. Yochai Bar Zakai - ISNU Washington Liaison
- Head of Foreign Relations Section in COMINT Center
- Head of Foreign Relations Section
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108