# FBI Refuses to Hire Arab-Jews to Translate **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 13, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135 "2003-10-13T06:38:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/1 "2003-10-13T06:38:47Z")
It makes you wonder what the FBI knows that we do not. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE\_ID=35018](http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35018) > [@](#): > > \*\*Despite a shortage of Arabic translators, the FBI turned down applications for linguist jobs from nearly 100 Arabic-speaking Jews in New York following the World Trade Center attacks, WorldNetDaily has learned. \*\* > [@](#): > > \*\*’‘We sent them a lot of people, \*\*and nobody made it to the finish line. Not one person was found eligible for these jobs, which is outrageous,’’ said Doug Balin, director of the Sephardic Bikur Holim, a Jewish social-services agency in Brooklyn, N.Y. Did he just say “we sent them a lot of people?” Who is “we” exactly? Is that a subconscious slip of the tongue? My question is whether or not Israel (specifically the Mossad) is trusted by the US government at least as much as their ever-present PR campaign would suggest? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/2 "2003-10-13T06:49:51Z")
“We” is Sephardic Bikur Holim, a Jewish social-services agency in Brooklyn, N.Y. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/3 "2003-10-13T06:52:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\*“We” is Sephardic Bikur Holim, a Jewish social-services agency in Brooklyn, N.Y. \*\* You’re not very good with subtlety, eh? ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/4 "2003-10-13T06:54:09Z")
Do you have any idea how absolutely freakin HARD it is to get FBI security clearance for a job like this? I couldn’t and I’ve never had so much as a speeding ticket! I’m Molly Freaking American, bleed red white and blue! For a job like that they’d dig around and I guarantee you they’d find _something_ on me to keep me out. It’s their job to dig up dirt, and they’re damn good at it. There are ALL SORTS of things that can knock you out of consideration, and I suspect a lot of the things the FBI looks for isn’t made public. That they didn’t find one “perfect” person out of a group of 90 is no surprise. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/5 "2003-10-13T06:58:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SnoopyFan \* > \*\*Do you have any idea how absolutely freakin HARD it is to get FBI security clearance for a job like this? I couldn’t and I’ve never had so much as a speeding ticket! I’m Molly Freaking American, bleed red white and blue! For a job like that they’d dig around and I guarantee you they’d find _something_ on me to keep me out. It’s their job to dig up dirt, and they’re damn good at it. > > There are ALL SORTS of things that can knock you out of consideration, and I suspect a lot of the things the FBI looks for isn’t made public. That they didn’t find one “perfect” person out of a group of 90 is no surprise. \*\* So what you are saying is that it is pure coincidence that 90 Arabic Jews were not hired even though the need for translators is mounting by the minute (in a matter of national security)? How do you know that you could not? Have you tried? Why do you speak with such conviction without first-hand knowledge? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/6 "2003-10-13T07:03:44Z")
So, are you suggesting the FBI is discriminating against Arabic speaking Jews? ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/7 "2003-10-13T07:06:20Z")
The answer that **2Thick** is looking for?: It’s probably because the FBI knows that it was the Mossad that flew the planes into the WTC. After all, Jews were told to stay home that fatefull day! The answer that is about one bazillion times more plausible: None of the 90 were able to pass the background check for a sensitive gov’t job. No suprise there. Out of a pool of some three hundred million or so, the FBI is looking for what, a couple of hundred? They can be choosey. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/8 "2003-10-13T07:11:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\*The answer that **2Thick** is looking for?: > > It’s probably because the FBI knows that it was the Mossad that flew the planes into the WTC. After all, Jews were told to stay home that fatefull day!\*\* Typical over-the-top reply by someone with nothing to add. \*\* > [@](#): > > The answer that is about one bazillion times more plausible: > > None of the 90 were able to pass the background check for a sensitive gov’t job. No suprise there. Out of a pool of some three hundred million or so, the FBI is looking for what, a couple of hundred? They can be choosey. \*\* Maybe you left your brain at home but the last time I checked there were not “some three hundred million or so” Arabic speakers in the USA. If you are too simple to catch the substance of the argument, then how do you expect people to take what you say seriously? ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/9 "2003-10-13T07:12:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*So, are you suggesting the FBI is discriminating against Arabic speaking Jews? \*\* I am not suggesting. Those are the facts. What I am wondering is whether the US government really trusts Israel as much in private as they do in public. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/10 "2003-10-13T07:15:32Z")
**I am not suggesting. Those are the facts.** You’re gonna need a lot more than just one piddly article about 90 people who didn’t get a job to back up the “fact” that the US gov’t is discriminating against Arabic speaking Jews. NINETY people don’t get a job and all of a sudden there’s a big conspiracy? Why the hell would the government NOT hire qualified translators if they passed the background check? ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/11 "2003-10-13T07:18:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SnoopyFan \* > \*\ ***I am not suggesting. Those are the facts.** > > You’re gonna need a lot more than just one piddly article about 90 people who didn’t get a job to back up the “fact” that the US gov’t is discriminating against Arabic speaking Jews. > > NINETY people don’t get a job and all of a sudden there’s a big conspiracy? Why the hell would the government NOT hire qualified translators if they passed the background check? \*\* It is not not people. That is ninety out of ninety…that is 100%. That means it is highly improbable considering the need. That means that 100% is a pattern. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/12 "2003-10-13T07:22:24Z")
A) What are you getting at? You obviously have some sort of ‘great revelation’ you want to share with one and all. Say what you have to say. B) The ideal candidate for the position does not need to be a native speaker of Arabic. The FBI may very well be willing to take a good prospect and put them through language school. Something the Army may want to look at for Gitmo, that’s for sure. C) Come on, admit it! You were all about the Mossad/9-11 angle, weren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/13 "2003-10-13T07:25:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 2Thick \* > \*\*What I am wondering is whether the US government really trusts Israel as much in private as they do in public. \*\* Well, while the article says > [@](#): > > some had helped translate Arabic for Israeli radio and TV news stations and the Israeli army before coming to America your conclusion still doesn’t follow, because there’s no evidence that they were all Israeli (although we know some were), or, even less likely, were agents of the Israeli government. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/14 "2003-10-13T07:27:28Z")
Um Jews doesn’t equal Israel. If it was discriminatory, and it may or may not have been, it is more likely because they’d be asked to translate and interface with Arabs. Being Jewish might get in the way of that as some Arabs think like, the op, that Jews do equal Israel. And if the candidates were emigrees from Israel or from Arab countries, then I’d imagine meeting security clearence would indeed be difficult. And the cultural interface perhaps more difficult. Maybe it was even a justified discrimination given the circumstances. A Jewish American in foreign service to Arab countries is at a disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst\_Autumn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Amethyst\_Autumn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst_Autumn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/15 "2003-10-13T07:32:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 2Thick \* > \*\*It is not not people. > > That is ninety out of ninety…that is 100%. > > That means it is highly improbable considering the need. That means that 100% is a pattern. \*\* Could you just say outright whatever it is that you’re trying to hint? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/16 "2003-10-13T07:38:06Z")
Does anyone know (not speculate) what kind of clearance would be needed for a job like this? Because some clearances are easier to get than others; “Top Secret” is a real bear to get, while “Secret” isn’t outrageously strenuous. I don’t think a translation job would require Top Secret (or better!) clearance, myself, which makes the mass rejection a tad suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/17 "2003-10-13T07:42:34Z")
IIRC, the three main levels of clearance are Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. ‘Top Secret’ involves info that is considered critical to national security, and all that. I wouldn’t consider it unlikely that the FBI is looking to fill ‘Top Secret’ slots, given the nature of anti-terrorism work. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/18 "2003-10-13T08:00:36Z")
**2Thick** , you seem to be assuming a lot of things based on incomplete data. Even if the need is pressing, the FBI isn’t just going to hire anybody. Your (and the agency’s) assumption that it’s got something to do with their religion doesn’t have any basis that I can see. So is your assumption that this has something to do with Mossad. All you know about these people is that they’re Jewish. Not every Jewish person is a Mossad agent. 😛 Despite your sarcasm, **Adaher** answered your question. You asked who the “we” in “’'We sent them a lot of people” was. The speaker was surely talking about his own organization, Sephardic Bikur Holim. A guy who slips up and lets people in on the conspiracy would probably not be able to hold down a job for an intelligence agency. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/19 "2003-10-13T15:53:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*your conclusion still doesn’t follow, because there’s no evidence that they were all Israeli (although we know some were), or, even less likely, were agents of the Israeli government. \*\* The point is that the FBI knows that the Mossad has agents in the US and the FBI is not going to hire anyone that “luckily” speaks Arabic and was sent by an Israeli organization in the US (because the FBI knows not to take any chances with people who are Jewish due to their loyalty to Israel). The proof is in the pudding. 90/90 rejected. The pool of Arabic/English speakers in NYC is at a level that rejecting 90 out of 90 is quite significant. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135/20 "2003-10-13T15:58:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DSeid \* > **Um Jews doesn’t equal Israel.** LOL [/] > [@](#): > > If it was discriminatory, and it may or may not have been, it is more likely because they’d be asked to translate and interface with Arabs. Being Jewish might get in the way of that as some Arabs think like, the op, that Jews do equal Israel. And if the candidates were emigrees from Israel or from Arab countries, then I’d imagine meeting security clearence would indeed be difficult. And the cultural interface perhaps more difficult. > > Maybe it was even a justified discrimination given the circumstances. A Jewish American in foreign service to Arab countries is at a disadvantage. \*\* If you would spend one second reading the article instead of reacting emotionally (as opposed to rationally) you would clearly see that they are not supposed to ever come in contact with Arabs. They are just supposed to translate recorded conversations and documents. Come back when you have a clue. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-refuses-to-hire-arab-jews-to-translate/207135.md?page=2)