SEE: Penn. Paid Firm to Monitor Activist Groups
SEE: http://www.terrorresponse.org/
Last week, a story broke revealing that an Israeli company was hired by the PA Department of Homeland Security to provide intelligence briefs to the department and statewide law enforcement. It was discovered that the company has been simply spying on peaceful activist groups, which most probably include Muslim organizations, and passing them as security threats.
Governor Rendell has profusely apologized for this mistake and has cut ties with the company, though it still operates out of Philadelphia. The company, the Institute of Terrorism and Research Response, has extensive ties to the Israeli government and sends all of its information back to Israel for analysis. What is more troubling is the firm’s training services. Recently, some security consulting firms have been providing training and workshops to law enforcement, describing all organized Muslim activity as suspicious and a potential threat.
CAIR-PA will be working with an interfaith and civil rights coalition led by the ACLU-PA to determine any legal recourse to this issue.
