Ehud Levi

Dr. Ehud (Udi) Levi was Director of the Counter Terrorism and Proliferation Finance Bureau of the Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Israel, as of May 2008.

At a meeting with the US Embassy in Tel Aviv in August 2007, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Shurat HaDin claimed to be in contact with 'Udi Levy' at the National Security Council and Uzi Beshaya at the Mossad. The report described both as key Embassy contacts on anti-terrorist finance cooperation.

Toronto Address

On 29 May 2008, Levi gave an address to the Economic Club of Toronto entitled "Radical Islam verses The West: Power Struggles in a time of Economic Warfare."

The Israpundit blog cited a report of the meeting by the National Post, which stated:

Ehud Levi, a former colonel in Israeli military intelligence, told a meeting of the Economic Club of Toronto yesterday Islamic radical groups are pumping billions of dollars a year into economies around the world to wage a conflict with the West.

“But terrorism is only a very small proportion of their strategic plans,” he said.

“The most important thing for radical Islamic groups is to reach their goals using the civilian infrastructure.”

They are building schools and creating mosques and Islamic centres that can then be used to propagate their views.

“Every year radical Islamic groups are sending billions and billions of dollars, from Saudi Arabia and Iran, to build this infrastructure,” he said.

Glaser meeting

Levi was one of a number of Israeli officials who met with US Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Daniel Glaser on 29 July 2008. According, to a US Government cable, Levi, supported by analysts from Mossad and Israeli Defence Intelligence (IDI), called for sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI):

Later in the day the delegation met exclusively with members of Israel's intelligence community, led by Udi Levi,

Director of Israel's National Security Council's (NSC) Counterterrorism Finance Bureau. Levi had brought together several analysts from Mossad and IDI that specifically cover counterterrorism finance issues in regard to Iran. Levi announced to the group that thetime was ripe to act against the CBI. The USG, he said, should designate the CBI, but if that were not an option for political or other reasons, the Israeli intelligence community stands ready to assist the USG in taking any other action possible to hinder the CBI in conducting business.

The meeting also discussed plans for a US-sponsored charity network in Palestine:

During the afternoon intelligence meeting with Udi Levi, Glaser piqued great interest by Levi regarding the establishment of a USG-Private Sector sponsored charity program. Glaser briefed Levi on the program, the American Charities for Palestine (ACP), founded by Dr. Ziad Asali, president of the American Task force on Palestine, and explained that the mission of the organization would be to

raise U.S. private funds and disburse them in the Palestinian Territories through USG-vetted programs on-the-ground. He envisioned that the organization would facilitate a legitimate way for donors to send money to the Palestinian Territories and hopefully provide alternatives to Hamas-led programs. Levi expressed strong interest in the program and noted that he was working with the Gulf countries on a similar concept. Levi noted that if the program becomes operational, it could provide an additional mechanism through which Gulf donors could donate money. Glaser agreed to pursue the issue and keep Levi informed of his progress.