[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E973-E974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IT'S OFFICIAL, THE SAFE ACT, (H.R. 695) JEOPARDIZES ISRAEL'S SECURITY!

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 22, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the Israeli Ministry of Defense has just 
issued a statement regarding encryption which states that the decontrol 
of encryption exports, as allowed by the SAFE Act, (H.R. 695) would 
threaten Israel's national security. Listen carefully to their exact 
statement: ``Israel considers the regulation and control of encryption 
products and technology to be vital to its national security, the 
combating of terrorism and effective law enforcement. Engagement of any 
kind in encryption technology in Israel is controlled by the Government 
of Israel. Israeli government policy will continue to protect sensitive 
and essential interests by enforcing strict national security policy in 
this regard. It is Israel's view that all countries should do their 
utmost to prevent the acquisition of strong encryption technology and 
products by terrorist and criminal entities.''
  And yet, as we all know, H.R. 695 allows for the immediate export of 
unrestricted encryption technology and allows for the acquisition of 
strong encryption technology by

[[Page E974]]

international terrorists. When questioned about the effects of H.R. 695 
(The SAFE Act) Major General David Ivry, Advisor to Israel's Minister 
of Defense said that ``we would encourage all of our friends in the 
United States to oppose the bill.'' Any friend of Israel in the United 
States Congress who are cosponsoring H.R. 695 should ask for a briefing 
by the NSA and then remove their names from the bill.
  All Americans who care about Israel's security should find out where 
their Member of Congress stands on this most important issue. The 
proponents of this bill maintain that Israel's enemies will eventually 
possess encryption technology. Even if this is true, it fails to 
explain why we should rush to place this technology in the hands of our 
enemies.
  The Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the 
National Security Agency and now the Israel Ministry of Defense believe 
that America and Israel need time to develop countermeasures to address 
the various threats posed these new technologies and H.R. 695 does not 
give us this time. The truth is that now that we have the official 
Israel position on encryption no real friend of Israel should remain a 
cosponsor of H.R. 695.

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