Press for Conversion! (Issue # 67) Fall 201236

Systems, Israel’s largest war industry.(See previous issue, pp.28-29.)LORROS is an elaborate remote-con-trolled sensor system used along Isra-el’s Separation wall and electronic de-tection fence. It uses night-vision infra-red thermal sensing cameras, lasers for“accurate target ranging” and Sonycameras for “daytime” surveillance.

SIBAT, the Israeli Ministry ofDefense, describes LORROS as being

“ideal for border and coastal surveil-lance, critical infrastructure protec-tion, intelligence gathering, artilleryspotting & target acquisitions, re-connaissance of illegal activities.”

The type of Sony “image sen-sor” that is integrated into LORROS isdescribed by Elbit as an “LRGC DayCamera.” To be exact, Elbit uses the“Sony EX view HAD CCD.” “EXview” is an “enhancement technologydeveloped by SONY to improve [the]light sensitivity” of its CCD cameras.CCDs, or “charge-coupled devices,”are a major technology used in digitalimaging. HAD stands for “Hole Accu-mulation Diode” which is a patentedSony technique for reducing “electronic

noise” caused by the absence of lightfalling on the CCD imaging sensors.

So, in quasi-layman’s terms, al-though these Sony cameras are osten-sibly used by LORROS for “daytime”-surveillance functions, Sony says theycan “film in the dark by irradiating nearinfrared light…onto the object beingfilmed” and are therefore also suitableas “night-time surveillance cameras.”

SonSonSonSonSony Corp.y Corp.y Corp.y Corp.y Corp.“Illegal Israeli settlers…to replen-ish their swimming pools and watertheir lawns while Palestinians,whose land has been appropriatedfor the settlements, lack drinking andcooking water.”

In 2000, a wholly-owned Sie-mens AG subsidiary called SiemensEnterprise Communications received aUS$1.2-million contract for communi-cations systems used in US-made AH-64 attack helicopters. This variety ofhelicopter has been transferred to Is-rael and used in attacks against Leba-non (2006) and Gaza (2007).

ReferencesSiemensen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens#World_War_II_era

Annual Report, 2010www.siemens.com/investor/pool/en/investor_relations/siemens_ar_2010.pdf

Contracts to Siemens AGwww.fedspending.org/fpds/search.php

Electrical Equipment for Naval Vessels and Sub-marineswww.industry.siemens.com/datapool/industry/industrysolutions/marine/sinavy/en/Electrical-Equipment-Nasal-Vessels-Submarines-en.pdf

Israel Deploys Nuclear Weapons on German-Built Submarines, Spiegel, June 6, 2012.www.spiegel.de/international/world/israel-deploys-nuclear-weapons-on-german-submarines-a-836671.html

Israel Gets Its 4th German-Made Nuke-CapableSub, Defense Technology News, May 6, 2012.mil.bonology.com/2012/05/dtn-news-israeli-defense-news-israel.html

David Rosenblatt and Yosef I. Abramowitz, “ASix-Day (Solar) War,” Haaretz, May 27, 2011.www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-six-day-solar-war-1.364331

Google search of Israel Electric Corp. websitefor “Siemens”www.google.ca/search?q=siemens+site%3Awww.israel-electric.co.il

Israel Electric to buy gas turbines from Siemens,Reuters, November 2, 2008.uk.reuters.com/article/2008/11/02/israelelectric-sie-mens-idUKL231459220081102

Siemenswww.whoprofits.org/Company%20Info.php?id=877

“Siemens Seeks More Israeli Investments,”Globes, August 1, 1996.www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=370184

Maart 2005 - What is Itec? English factsheet onITEC arms fairstopwapenhandel.org/publicaties/factsheets/itec2engels

Menno Steketee, “Israeli troops trained in theNetherlands,” NRC Handelsblad, July 12, 2003.stopwapenhandel.org/publicaties/factsheets/NRC12juli03.html

Siemens AG, Teachers for Palestinewww.caiaweb.org/tfp/Siemens_AG.html

Government Contracts USA Defense Dep'twww.governmentcontractswon.com

Known largely for supplyingconsumer electronics prod-ucts, like cameras, this Japa-

nese multinational is the world’s fifthlargest media conglomerate and hasamassed total assets of US$156 billion.

However, Sony’s camera con-sumers also include military, police andintelligence agencies. Between 2000and 2009, Sony Electronics — ownedby Sony’s US holding company — soldUS$67 million worth of products to theUS military and US$15 million worthto US law enforcement and spy agen-cies, such as the FBI, the Departmentof Homeland Security and the NationalGeospatial-Intelligence Agency. Thesecontracts represented 85% of Sony’ssales to the US federal government.

Sony video cameras are used in theLong-Range Reconnaissance and

Observation System (LORROS)produced by Elbit Systems,

Israel’s top war industry.

This remote-controlled, day-and-night sensor system is usedalong Israel’s Separation wall.

LLLLLORRORRORRORRORROS SurvOS SurvOS SurvOS SurvOS Surveillance Syeillance Syeillance Syeillance Syeillance SystemstemstemstemstemSony’s technology is also integratedinto the products of other corporationsthat serve the military, police and in-telligence forces. For example, in Is-rael, Sony video cameras are used inthe Long-Range Reconnaissance andObservation System, or LORROS sur-veillance system, which is built by the“Security Systems” branch of Elbit

www.elbitsystems.com

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Fall 2012 (Issue # 67) Press for Conversion! 37

its surveillance products. In 2011,Agent Vi listed 40 kinds of Sony secu-rity cameras used in its video surveil-lance systems. These high-tech Sonycameras used by Agent Vi are affixedto ceilings, walls or posts, and can pan,tilt or zoom by remote control.

An example of how these com-panies have meshed their “intelligentvideo analysis technology,” was an-nounced in 2009 when Sony said it

“provides intelligent cameras em-bedded with its unique video analy-sis architecture…. [Sony’s] camerasprocess the video in the camera andtransmit the metadata to the AgentVi application.”

Agent Vi says its products andprograms are “especially designed forlarge scale installations” using “up tothousands of distributed cameras.” Itssoftware instantly analyses video dataas it streams in from these huge cam-era networks. For instance, its “city sur-veillance” programs detect everythingfrom the gathering of groups, to “sus-picious activity” such as loitering, orthe “movement of suspicious people.”Agent Vi’s surveillance systems areused by private companies and govern-ments in 25 countries. Its clients includenumerous military institutions, such asair force bases and naval yards, as wellas government agencies, like prisons.

In 2006, Frost and Sullivan, a“global growth consulting company,”reported that Agent Vi’s

“technology has been successfullyinstalled in leading enterprise-gradeorganisations, including: The IsraeliMinistry of Justice [and] The IsraelPrison Service.”

These institutions oversee the prosecu-tion and imprisonment of thousands ofPalestinian political prisoners.

In 2002 and 2003, Sony re-ceived contracts for “Video Recordingand Reproducing Equipment” valued atUS$1,223,040 for use aboard US-madeF-15 fighter bombers. The US has ex-

Police who spent 35 years in the Is-raeli military, serving in commandpositions over the Negev, Tel-Avivand Central districts, andChaim Adar who, during 30 yearsin the Israeli military was Head ofthe Ministry of Defense’s (MOD’s)“Procurement and Production Di-rectorate” and Director of MOD’smission in New York.

AAAAAgent Vigent Vigent Vigent Vigent ViSony is also partnered with another Is-raeli “homeland security” companycalled Agent Vi. It integrates dozens ofvarieties of Sony cameras into its masssurveillance products. Previouslyknown as Aspectus, and then AgentVideo Intelligence, this corporation is“the leading global provider of com-prehensive video analytics solutions.”

“The people behind” this com-pany, says its promotional material,have “operational background[s] inmilitary, intelligence, anti-terror, Mos-sad and other security bodies.” Busi-ness Week’s online resources reveal thatthe firm’s cofounders, Zvika Ashani andGadi Talmon, are indeed alumni of theIsraeli military and intelligence forces.Ashani’s bio notes that he was a “tech-nical officer” in the Israeli air force.Talmon’s “executive profile” elusivelyreveals that he “worked with the lawenforcement and Special Forces com-munity worldwide” and served in theIsraeli military’s “intelligence corps.”

All five of the firm’s “key ex-ecutives” had careers in Israel’s mili-tary and/or its “homeland security”companies, like Raytheon Israel andElisra, a subsidiary of Elbit. Agent Vi’sCEO, Itsik Kattan, who used to workfor Israel’s Ministry of Defense andseveral Israeli arms companies, now“utilizes his familiarity with the defensemarket to advance the company’s ac-tivities and involvement in that field.”

Agent Vi integrates Sony cam-eras and video-analytics software into

TTTTTAR Ideal ConceptAR Ideal ConceptAR Ideal ConceptAR Ideal ConceptAR Ideal ConceptsssssBesides Elbit, another Israeli militaryindustry, TAR Ideal Concepts Ltd., alsosells Sony “surveillance cameras.” Inparticular, TAR sells Sony’s “CeilingDome” and “22x Zoom Cameras.”

TAR describes itself as “a reg-istered supplier with the Israeli [Min-istry of Defense] MOD, Military &Police since 1990.” TAR serves “allthree branches of the Israeli Military:Ground Forces, Navy and Air force,”“has an extremely close working rela-tionship at all levels of the [Israel De-fense Forces’] IDF’s chain-of-com-mand” and “maintains a high level ofcooperation with the Israeli Police De-partment and Prisons Service.”

TAR says its “unique field ex-perience is derived from its staff mem-bers, who” it says “have extensive mili-tary backgrounds including SpecialOps Units, Field & Operational Com-mands, Tactics and Weaponry.” TAR’sdirectors includesMajor General (re-tired) Yiftah Ron-Tal, a former Chiefof Israel’s Army, who was an “ActiveCommander of Armored Divisions.”

Previous directors included:Schlomo Aharonishki, the retiredFormer Chief of the Israeli National

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