Israel Matzav

The FBI looks for Mr. X

In the Washington Post, Gary Wasserman - who is writing a book about it - talks about the anti-Semitism behind the AIPAC case.

Ground Zero would be the 23-year-old case of Jonathan Pollard. Here one had a real spy, an American Jew working for the Navy who, out of concern for Israel as well as cash, copied and delivered thousands of classified documents. After his arrest in the 1980s, the belief took hold within counterintelligence circles that he was part of a larger spy ring. This led to the search for a "Mr. X," a high-ranking national security official who had helped direct Pollard to needed documents and continued to operate within the government. So the creation myth was born.

That no Mr. X was ever found is beside the point. More relevant is that Pollard could support an operational frame for organizing and understanding a murky, dangerous world. This anti-Zionist concept holds that Israeli objectives run contrary to U.S. national interests; that many American Jews, including those in senior policymaking positions, suffer from divided loyalties; and that pro-Israel political influence holds sway over U.S. government decisions.

While this politically incorrect frame is not going to be discussed in public speeches, its outline appears with a vengeance in the Rosen-Weissman case.

Franklin was apparently sent out by his FBI handlers to tempt Jews. He tried Adam Ciralsky at CBS News, who had once sued the CIA for anti-Semitism, and Richard Perle, who was on his way to vacation in France, as well as Pentagon employees who had done nothing more than work with Franklin. All turned down the offer of information.

But the bait tempting the AIPAC lobbyists was tastier. After not seeing them for a year, Franklin asked for a meeting, and in an Arlington coffee shop he told Weissman that both American and Israeli agents in Iraq were being targeted by Iran. Could they please use their contacts to tell our White House to stop this plot, he asked, because no one was listening to him? And by the way, this is secret. The lobbyists fell for the plea to save lives. They told the Israelis, they told The Post and they tried to tell the National Security Council. And they were charged with conspiracy.

...

After years and millions of dollars spent investigating the nefarious "Israel Lobby," the case produced no stolen secrets, no money changing hands, no covert meetings, no high-level, dual-loyal officials, no harm to the national interest and no spies. Pardon me, but where's the corned beef?

Read the whole thing.

Leaving the AIPAC case for a minute, could it be that Jonathan Pollard has been imprisoned for 23 years - far more than those who passed comparable and even more sensitive information to America's enemies - because higher-ups in the American intelligence and security establishments believe that "Israeli objectives run contrary to U.S. national interests; that many American Jews, including those in senior policymaking positions, suffer from divided loyalties; and that pro-Israel political influence holds sway over U.S. government decisions?" Could it be that Jonathan Pollard has been imprisoned for 23 years because of anti-Semitism?

Either of those explanations makes as much sense as any other explanation I have heard (I've actually spoken with someone here who claimed to have been in the IDF intelligence unit that handled Pollard - he claimed Pollard knows too much to ever be released. I don't buy that one. Not after Ames and Montaperto - follow the links above).

But few Americans are likely to stand up for Pollard in his lifetime. No one wants to risk being accused of dual loyalty.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:04 PM