Washington Wa
Jews Under A Cloud
From Disloyalty Links
JAMES BESSER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
L
ast week's revelations about
a Defense Department
memo warning contractors
that Jewish employees
might spy for Israel produced in-
dignant outbursts from Jewish
leaders and reinforced the per-
ception that the Pentagon is still
a hotbed of anti-Semitism.
Much of that reaction wasjus-
tified. The offensive memo, which
was only halfheartedly rescinded
by officials in Washington, crossed
a dangerous line by drawing a di-
rect link between Jewish identity
and disloyalty.
But the memo also reflected a
harsh reality for thousands of
Jews in sensitive government po-
sitions: The repercussions of the
Jonathan Pollard affair continue
to reinforce old canards about
Jewish "dual loyalty."
Condemning the rescinded De-
fense Department memo is im-
portant. But so is recognizing the
damage that activism on behalf
of Mr. Pollard — whether moti-
vated by admirable compassion
or by a less admirable apprecia-
tion for his deed — inflicts on a
Jewish community that some-
times gives the appearance of
being torn between its responsi-
bilities to Israel and to the nation
where we choose to live.
The government's savage re-
sponse to Mr. Pollard's actions
was shaped by a variety of factors,
including Resentment toward Is-
rael and the traditional anti-
Semitism cited by Mr. Pollard's
supporters.
At the Pentagon, in particular,
there has always been a simmer-
ing animosity about the special
privileges enjoyed by Israel as
part of the "strategic relationship"
with Washington. Israel's deci-
sion to run a spy operation in this
country was proof to many of the
unsoundness of this policy.
Another factor was the code of
behavior that characterizes the
shadow world of intelligence and
defense, which demands that trai-
tors be punished within an inch
of their lives as a warning to
others. The punishment must be
even harsher if violators try to jus-
tify their actions.
Jews have a hard time under-
standing why the government
cares so much about one pitiable
guy stealing secrets for an ally,
and they find it easy to attribute
that reaction to rampant anti-
Semitism.
But the truth is that part of the
reason for Mr. Pollard's harsh
treatment is the argument by
some supporters — direct or im-
plied — that his actions were jus-
tified by this country's refusal to
provide Israel with intelligence
vital to her defense.
So Mr. Pollard is suffering not
only for his actions as a spy, but
because of those who suggest that
what he did was justified, fully or
partially.
But thousands of Jews work-
ing in sensitive positions also pay
a price because of the shadow
that's been cast over their careers
by the reinforcement of the dual
loyalty indictment.
Every time Jewish groups put
out materials that attempt to ex-
plain Mr. Pollard's actions and
give them at least a degree of
legitimacy, Jews working at the
Pentagon, at the CIA headquar-
ters in Langley, at defense in-
stallations around the world, feel
a renewed chill of suspicion.
Every time an Israel Prime Min-
ister pleads for clemency, a re-
sponse to political pressures in
Israel, loyal Jewish employees
wonder anew if their careers are
being imperiled by suspicions of
dual loyalty.
The recent Israeli decision
granting citizenship to Mr. Pol-
lard may have been justified by
the debt owed a man who was se-
duced by the Israeli spy masters
and then abandoned to a terrible
fate.
But for thousands of govern-
ment workers and for a commu-
nity that has repeatedly proven
its commitment to this nation, it
was resurrected once more the
idea that Jews do have conflict-
ing loyalties — the root idea in the
recently uncovered Defense De-
partment memo.
Recently, I posed this question
to several high-level government
employees, all Jews, all commit-
ted Zionists: If you were running
a top secret division dealing with
Middle East intelligence, and you
were choosing between hiring a
non-Jew and a Jew with a strong
record of commitment to Israel,
would you think twice about the
Jewish candidate's loyalty?
They all said the same thing:
They would think a little more
carefully about the Jewish can-
didate. And the reason, they said
with evident sadness, was the
Jonathan Pollard case, and the
Jewish community's ambivalent
response.
That doesn't mean that Jews
cannot attain high positions in
the national security realm. At
the CIA, to cite just one example,
there are more Jews than ever.
But it does mean that many
rank-and-file Jews in sensitive
positions face additional chal-
lenges in their careers. El
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