The Shin Bet considers itself authorized to use surveillance techniques that violate privacy, such as wiretaps, when activity that "sabotages the state's Jewish character" is carried out, even if this activity is not illegal.

The security service made this assertion in a letter sent yesterday by its head, Yuval Diskin, to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah  the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

The letter, sent in response to a query from those organizations, was approved by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.

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The Shin Bet, said the letter, plays "an essential role" in Israeli life, "and for this purpose, it has been given broad powers and authorities." Specifically, it said, the organization is responsible both for national security and for preserving Israel's fundamental values as a "Jewish and democratic" state, and therefore, its job is to protect "the democratic system of government and its institutions from subversive threats."

"Subversive," Diskin acknowledged, "is a vague term. The service's view is that 'subversion' could include seeking to change the state's basic values by abolishing its democratic character or its Jewish character."

He stressed that freedom of expression, including advocating against the state's Jewish or democratic character, is a fundamental right as long as it is done without breaking the law, while privacy is also a fundamental right in a democratic society. These two rights can be infringed only for "an appropriate purpose, and only proportionately," he said.

The service has the right to use all tools at its disposal against illegal subversive activity, Diskin said. When the subversive activity in question is not illegal, the Shin Bet has no right to use coercive tools such as detentions, he said, but it does have an obligation to gather information "in order to ensure that this activity does not slide into illegal activity and does not conceal illegal activity."

Thus if the subversive activity in question is being carried out secretly, the service is authorized to use more invasive information-gathering techniques, such as wiretaps, "to uncover what is hiding behind this activity."

This principle applies to subversive activity by Jews and Arabs alike, he said.

Mazuz's office noted that in "sensitive cases" the Shin Bet consults with "the relevant authorities in the justice system" to determine what investigative methods are permissible, but stressed that "the position detailed in Diskin's letter is acceptable to the attorney general."

Adalah said it may petition the High Court of Justice against this decision, which it said essentially permits the Shin Bet to interfere in the country's political life.