US engineer 'spied for Israel'

Updated 23.43 Tue Apr 22 2008

Keywords: nuclear weapons, spy, US Defence, Israel

An American engineer arrested on suspicion of passing nuclear secrets to Israel has appeared in court.

Ben-Ami Kadish, 84, is suspected of giving classified information on the US atomic weapons programme, fighter jets and air-defence missiles to the Jewish state in the 1980s, the US Justice Department said.

Ben-Ami Kadish is suspected of giving classified information on the US atomic weapons programme, fighter jets and air-defence missiles to the Jewish state in the 1980s, the US Justice Department claims

The Connecticut-born US citizen had access to military secrets while working at an army engineering centre in Dover, New Jersey, it is claimed.

He is suspected of reporting to the same Israeli government handler who dealt with Jonathan Jay Pollard, an Israeli spy jailed for life for espionage in 1985.

Court papers say Kadish spied for Israel from 1979 to 1985 and his contact with the unidentified Israeli handler continued until March of this year.

US Attorney General Joseph diGenova, who prosecuted Pollard, said: "It was bigger than we thought, and they hid it well."

Kadish is said to have acknowledged his role in FBI interviews and said he acted to help Israel.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, "We will be informing the Israelis of this action

"Twenty-plus years ago during the Pollard case we noted that this was not the kind of behavior we would expect from friends and allies, and that would remain the case today."

Kadish was arrested in New Jersey on four counts of conspiracy and espionage - an indictment that carries a possible death sentence.

But a judge at Manhattan's Federal Court ordered his release on $300,000 bail and restricted his travel.