Intelligence Budget Increases To Overcome Haaretz Paywall

A glance through Haaretz is as good as having a man on the ground in Pakistan, Sudan, or Iran.

Tel Aviv, August 31 – Israeli defense and intelligence officials told reporters today that a reserve in the current budget for the Ministry of Defense will be used in part to gain access to Haaretz’s English-language online edition, which uses a paywall. That way, say the officials, the intelligence organs of the state can keep abreast of what the country’s enemies are saying and thinking.

Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman gave approval this morning for the allocation of the reserve, which formed part of the 59-billion-shekel ($15.6B) ministry budget for 2016. In signing off on the measure, the minister attested to the importance he and his staff see in gaining insight into the mentality of the forces opposed to Israel and Zionism. While many costly programs already exist to gain intelligence and inside information on the workings of enemy governments, militaries, and militias, in some cases the information can be obtained more economically and closer to home, explained defense analyst Washing Tunnpost.

“It takes years of training and preparation to get an agent and the necessary support network in place, and all that can collapse in an instant if someone messes up or the enemy gets too wise or lucky,” said Tunnpost. “From the perspective of risking assets and return on investment, this move is both a safe bet and a shrewd, efficient use of resources. A glance through Haaretz, especially the English version, is as good as having a man on the ground in, say, Pakistan, Sudan, or Iran.”

Tunnpost noted that the cost of a subscription, or more likely several subscriptions, to the haaretz.com site, remains far less than even a program to hack into the site and defeat the paywall mechanism. “It’s also safer in the sense that if Haaretz up and decides to change their system, or migrate servers, all the intelligence channels remain in place, since Haaretz will most likely do its best to keep the information flowing with as little hassle to the reader as possible.”

A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters that the primary focus of the intelligence program will be the English edition, which takes the existing Hebrew articles and headlines, and embellishes them to reflect the sensibilities of Israel’s foes. “On occasion, we will also need to consult the original Hebrew edition as well,” confessed the official,” because it’s important to know how the enemy handles information, and also because the embellishments and distortions that appear in the English edition of Haaretz often result in headlines and stories with only the remotest connection to the original reporting.”

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