With friends like these

This just in, from Fox:

ALBANY, N.Y. – Federal authorities have accused two upstate New York men of assembling a portable X-ray weapon they intended to use against opponents of Israel.

Prosecutors say 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford, of Galway, and 54-year-old Eric J. Feight, of Hudson, have been charged with conspiracy to provide support to terrorists following a yearlong undercover investigation.

Investigators say Crawford approached local Jewish organizations looking for people to help him with technology that could be used to secretly deliver damaging and even lethal doses of radiation against those he considered enemies of Israel.

Authorities say they assembled the mobile device, but it was inoperable and nobody was hurt.

Both are scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday in Albany.

Authorities say they could face up to 15 years in prison.

Ben Harris is JTA’s news editor. In his seven years with JTA, he has reported from more than 15 countries. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, New York magazine, among other publications.