The World : Israel Sentences Soviet Spy

Shabtai Kalmanovitch, a Russian-born businessman who associated with leading Israeli politicians and army officers, was jailed for nine years for passing secrets to Soviet intelligence. Kalmanovitch, 43, who emigrated in 1971, pleaded guilty in a closed Tel Aviv court to espionage and contact with a foreign agent as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors who dropped a more serious charge of spying with intent to harm state security. No details were given of the espionage activities. But Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin accused Kalmanovitch publicly of passing secrets to the Soviet Union that were likely to have reached Syria, Libya and other countries at war with Israel.