Recon Charges
Rejected
By Israel
Washington (JTA) —An
Israeli official rejected allega-
tions last week that Israel
was trying to gain secret
technological information
from an American company
which produces surveillance
devices and procession op-
tical lens equipment.
The company, Recon Optic-
al Inc. of Barrin, II, charged
in a civil lawsuit in Federal
District Court in Manhattan,
that the Israeli government,
which entered into contract
with the company regarding
the production of aerial
reconnaissance cameras for
Israel, was trying to gain
secret technological informa-
tion from the company on
how to make the equipment.
A spokesman for the
Israeli Embassy in Washing-
ton, Asher Naim, said the
dispute between the Israeli
government and Recon Op-
tical is "only an . argument
between a supplier and an
orderer." According to the
Israeli official the deal be-
tween Israel and the com-
pany was in the amount of
about US$20 million and was
made through Israel's pur-
chasing mission in New York
City. •
According to a report in
The New York Times, Justice
Department and Customs
Service officials in Washing-
ton confirmed that they were
investigating the dispute be-
tween Israel and the com-
pany. But the officials noted
that they had no evidence of
any Israeli violation of
federal law.
"The Israelis had the pro-
per licenses and went
through the proper channels
in their contract," a Justice
Department official was
quoted by the Times.
American officials added,
however, that they began a
preliminary investigation of
the dispute because of sen-
sitive Israeli-American rela-
tions on security matters.
1. ;
Israeli Inflation
At Zero
Jerusalem (JTA) — The
Consumer Price Index re-
mained unchanged during
July, the Central Bureau of
Statistics has announced. The
figure immediately was
hailed as indicative of the
success of the current eco-
nomic policy of freezing the
value of the shekel and i con-
trolling prices.
Last July, the CPI rose 25
percent. It has risen 24 per-
cent in the year since the
government unveiled its au-
sterity plan. Inflation during
that year rose 15 percent.
The year before it had
reached about 400 percent.
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