Talk:Gal Luft

Acting as an unregistered agent = Espionage?

@Nightscream: - Looking at this diff; you don't think "acting as an unregistered agent" basically means espionage? I realize that what Luft was doing wasn't what you'd classically call "spying", but it seems pretty darn close. This is obviously an WP:OTHERCONTENT arguments, but the same "influence peddling" allegations were made against Maria Butina, and we (i.e. we wikipedians) called her a spy. NickCT (talk) 17:14, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

It doesn't. Read the charges. They don't include espionage. Luft is charged with arranging business dealings, not spying. I don't know if these are all already in the article, but feel free to add the ones that aren't, as they support the specific charges, and the actions by Luft that violated the laws in question. Here is what I composed for another project:

The charges included two counts of making false statements; conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the Arms Export Control Act, and three counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act relating to Luft’s dealings with Libya, the United Arab Emirates, and Kenya. Luft’s violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act occurred when he arranged meetings between Iranian officials and a Chinese energy company to discuss oil deals, during which the indictment says Luft had an associate to refer to the oil as “Brazilian” rather than Iranian in order to conceal the illegal nature of the meetings. The Arms Export Control Act violations occurred when Luft, acting without a valid U.S. license, brokered arms deals with Chinese businesses to sell their weapons, including anti-tank launchers, grenade launchers, mortar rounds, aerial bombs, rockets, and drones, to the three aforementioned countries.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5s_1YkD628
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-co-director-think-tank-acting-unregistered
• https://www.reuters.com/world/us/head-us-think-tank-charged-with-acting-chinese-agent-2023-07-10/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66160979
• https://www.thedailybeast.com/gops-missing-biden-probe-witness-gal-luft-faces-laundry-list-of-federal-charges Nightscream (talk) 17:27, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

@Nightscream: - I acknowledge that the charges don't list espionage. Do you acknowledge that the charges against Maria Butina didn't include espionage, but we still called her a spy? NickCT (talk) 17:30, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with that person.

Do any of the sources currently cited in the article indicate that Luft has been accused of being a spy? Because I've read a good number of them, including the ones I cited above, and they do not. Let's stick to what the sources say, and avoid WP:SYNTH. Nightscream (talk) 17:36, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

@Nightscream: - Ok. Well, I don't feel strongly about this, so I'll defer. That said, if "foreign agent" doesn't mean "spy", I don't know what it means. NickCT (talk) 17:38, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

It can mean multiple things. In some situations, it can indeed refer to spying/espionage. In others, like the case of Luft, it does not. Thanks for discussing it with me. :-) Nightscream (talk) 17:50, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

@Nightscream: - Yeah. No problem. Thanks for your help tidying the article. Actually.... rethinking this; if we can't call him an "alleged spy" how about an "alleged foriegn agent"? That wouldn't be WP:SYNTH, right?

I guess I feel that something like this should go in the lead b/c it seems like it's now what this guy is primarily notable for. NickCT (talk) 18:05, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Professor?

Where was Gal Luft a professor, and which reliable sources verify that claim? Cullen328 (talk) 05:38, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

This JP Article verifies? I was curious about this factiod as well. I can't find any source that identifies where he was a professor. NickCT (talk) 15:26, 12 July 2023 (UTC)