An Israeli-American whose 2010 arrest for leaking classified information to a blogger has been shrouded in secrecy was in fact passing on secret FBI wiretaps of conversations at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, The New York Times reported Tuesday. It is common knowledge in intelligence circles that the U.S. maintains surveillance on its local embassies, but wiretapping of allies is a volatile issue, especially when it occurs between two allies as purportedly close as Israel and the United States. Shamai K. Leibowitz, 40, an Israeli-born lawyer and the grandson of renowned philosopher and Torah scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz, moved to the suburbs of Washington, D.C., in 2004 with his wife and twin sons. The New York Times reported that he was working as a Hebrew translator for the FBI when he became concerned about Israeli lobbying efforts in Washington as well as a potential Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Some of the leaked transcripts included conversations between American supporters of Israel and at least one member of Congress. The blogger, who has been revealed as Richard Silverstein, the author of the left-wing website Tikun Olam, discussed the case with The New York Times out of what he said was a desire to prove that Leibowitz, though in grave violation of the law, was acting out of a sense of justice. I see him [Liebowitz] as an American patriot and a whistle-blower, and Id like his actions to be seen in that context, Silverstein told the newspaper. The New York Times interviewed former counterintelligence officials who said that Israel ranked just below China and Russia when it came to spy networks in the U.S. The report said the revelation of wiretapping at the Israeli Embassy was not particularly new, considering that counterintelligence agents have long kept an eye on Israeli spying. Silverstein removed all blog posts containing leaked information from Leibowitz, but was able to retrieve a few to show to The New York Times during his interview. They detail briefings between the Israeli Embassy and U.S. President Barack Obama about Hamas's presence in the Gaza Strip, calls between Israeli officials in both countries to discuss the pro-Israel views of various congressmen, and preparations for an embassy official's meeting with U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, who at the time was preparing for a trip to Gaza. Silverstein also told The New York Times that the wiretaps provided by Leibowitz revealed that embassy officials had considered writing opinion pieces that would then be published with the bylines of American supporters. Leibowitz has since been charged under the Espionage Act and is now in a Federal Bureau of Prisons halfway house in Maryland.