The CIA, The Clinton Administration and Abe Foxman - Editorial

The Jewish Press (NY) - February 18, 2000

Last week, in a front-page story, The Jewish Press carried the shocking story that the CIA seems to have a policy of subjecting its Orthodox Jewish employees to special scrutiny on the ground that they are inordinately vulnerable to recruitment by Israeli spymasters. Although the charge by one former employee who claims he was fired as a security risk pursuant to this policy has been around for some months, its recent airing on a popular TV newsmagazine interview program catapulted it into national prominence. Last week, The Jewish Press also carried excerpts from the transcript of the explosive program. As a follow-up, this week's front page paints a picture of disturbing insensitivity to this blatant anti-Semitism in high places in the Clinton Administration.

According to one of the terminated employee's lawyers, Neal Sher, the President's National Security Advisor, Samuel Berger, one of the many members of the Jewish faith President Clinton always points to when accused of anti-Israel bias, turned a blind eye to reports of the policy that were directed to him. The attorney also claims that Vice President Al Gore, who is leading the pack in the Democratic Party presidential sweepstakes, also refused to get involved. And what is equally as disturbing is the report that the ADL knew about the allegations for some time but did nothing, because, according to Mr. Sher, they did not believe that there was any "systemic" anti-Semitism involved in his client's losing his job.

Given the fact that the ADL puts out press releases on virtually anything that even hints at this sort of thing, their silence in this instance is most disturbing. We can't help but think that if the allegations against the CIA involved anti-Black, anti-Hispanic or perhaps even anti-Asian discrimination, the aforementioned, and a flock of others, would have been vying for positions at the head of the line of the concerned. We are not surprised by Sandy Berger's inaction, but Al Gore owes the Jewish community an explanation - and so does Abe Foxman.