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Jew who loses security clearance blames anti-Semitism in the military
JTA Online ^ | Oct. 29, 2001 | Sharon Samber

Posted on 10/30/2001 10:44:50 AM PST by AshleyMontagu

Jew who loses security clearance
blames anti-Semitism in the military
By Sharon Samber


WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (JTA) — A Jewish reserve officer says the U.S. Army stripped him of his security clearance and forced him to give up command of an intelligence unit because of his ties to Israel.

Maj. Shawn Pine, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company of Austin, Texas, holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship and received his top security clearance in 1990 — until it was revoked this summer.

While Pine says the reasons are rooted in anti-Semitism, the army says it's just implementing a simple rules change.

Pine's story, which first appeared in the Jerusalem Post, brings up concerns of heightened sensitivity in the U.S. armed forces to officers with Israel connections.

Pine was born in the United States and immigrated to Israel with his family in the late 1970s. Like other Israeli citizens, he entered the Israel Defense Force, serving in the elite Golani Brigade.

After his discharge, Pine returned to the United States to attend Georgetown University. He later chose a military career and served nine years as an officer in the U.S. Army.

In 1995, Pine returned to Israel to study international relations at the Hebrew University, simultaneously doing his occasional IDF reserve duty.

Pine says he discussed his Israel connection with the U.S. Army when his security clearance came up for a routine update. He even agreed to the unusual step of taking a polygraph test, Pine says, saying it seemed fair because he had "a lot of interaction with Israel."

But now Pine says his career is ruined, as it's unlikely that private companies that get government contracts for security-related work would hire him without a security clearance.

Pine claims there is a "blatant" connection between his case and that of Lt. Col. Jeremiah Mattysse, a senior intelligence officer who converted to Judaism and went AWOL in Israel last year. There was speculation that Mattysse had passed on military intelligence to the Jewish state, but he eventually was cleared.

Pine was contacted about his security clearance update only a month after the Mattysse incident.

"They're looking for Jewish officers," he said.

The Army Reserves says it is implementing new rules that prevent anyone who holds dual citizenship from having top security clearance.

Pine is "not the only one caught up in the rules change," said Joe Hanley, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

"This is not a punitive action," agreed Steve Stromvall, another spokesman.

A research associate at the Ariel Center for Policy Research in Israel, Pine has published many articles on military and strategic affairs in the Middle East. His writings have appeared in Israel Affairs, The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and the Jerusalem Post.

The Anti-Defamation League's Houston office said it had been contacted by Pine and is investigating the case.

Jewish sensitivity to accusations of dual loyalty has increased since the infamous case of Jonathan Pollard.

A former analyst for U.S. Navy intelligence, Pollard was convicted of espionage in 1985 for passing secret U.S. military information to Israel, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Anti-Israel feelings may be "endemic" in the U.S. Army's intelligence community, Pine believes.

"When they see a Jew, they see a Jonathan Pollard," he said.

There is no doubt that certain quarters of the U.S. intelligence community harbor an underlying suspicion of Jews with connections to Israel, attorney Neal Sher said.

Sher represented former intelligence officer Adam Ciralsky, who charged that the CIA placed him on leave in 1997 because of his ties with Israel. Ciralsky sued the CIA last year, claiming that rampant anti-Semitism within the agency destroyed his career.

Sher said he does not know the details of Pine's case, but said it is reasonable that anti-Semitism and anti-Israel animus could have played a role.

"The organized Jewish community should take this very seriously," he said.



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To: AshleyMontagu
Really Ashley? Can you point out my distortion?

Read what I wrote Ashley. It always helps.

I wrote that this (the story of this officer) was discussed previously and that you were part of that discussion.

Not true?

I was perplexed at what would compel you to post a new thread. I still wonder (wink, wink).

61 posted on 10/31/2001 6:04:49 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: wimpycat
Your scenario would not make a bad TV show.

Nevertheless, as you stated the case, it buttresses my view. Any such dilemma would not change because a person is a dual national.

Use the same story but the one finding the information is a Boston born Irish Catholic supporter of the Republican cause and the information is that the British are about to assassinate the entire IRA leadership.

62 posted on 10/31/2001 6:11:46 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: wimpycat
I'm a dual citizen because of where I was born.

By your doubts, since I purposely attained US citizenship, it is Israel that should question my loyalty.

You are making too much of dual citizenship. In reality its nothing more then paperwork. Loyalty is in the heart and actions depend on honor. For both dual and sole citizens.

And again to prove my point. Israeli Arabs are judged individually. There are non-Jews in very sensitive positions in Israel.

63 posted on 10/31/2001 6:18:52 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: Patria One
There may be people on this board who have never heard of the Rosenbergs

Because all their time is spent playing the ever popular game: "Who's Astonished Now".

64 posted on 10/31/2001 6:32:49 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: Sabramerican
By your doubts, since I purposely attained US citizenship, it is Israel that should question my loyalty.

I agree.

You are making too much of dual citizenship. In reality its nothing more then paperwork. Loyalty is in the heart and actions depend on honor. For both dual and sole citizens.

So citizenship is just a piece of paper to you? Is it like a sweater that you can put on and take off, it's the person inside that counts? No. It's more than just a piece of paper. It's more akin to a marriage than a state driver's license, for crying out loud. Your cavalier attitude towards the mere "paperwork" that enables you to participate fully in the U.S. speaks volumes and explains your unwillingness to be as strict as possible with who is entrusted with military secrets. That "paperwork" puts you under obligation. So you took the oath of citizenship under false pretenses? Is the oath, any oath, "just words" to you?

The U.S. is first and last to me. All other countries are secondary. If it were in the best interests of the U.S. to destroy my ancestral homeland (England, in my case) tomorrow, I would support it fully. Anybody who can't say the same thing and mean it has no business having a security clearance, as far as I'm concerned. Anybody with a dual citizenship would be less likely to feel the same way. If they did, they would be traitors to their other country, and nobody should trust a traitor, even if that traitor benefits the U.S.

65 posted on 10/31/2001 7:01:24 AM PST by wimpycat
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To: Sabramerican
Nevertheless, as you stated the case, it buttresses my view. Any such dilemma would not change because a person is a dual national.

Well, you're a dual national and you dodged the question. What would you do if you were faced with that scenario?

Use the same story but the one finding the information is a Boston born Irish Catholic supporter of the Republican cause and the information is that the British are about to assassinate the entire IRA leadership.

OK, I'll take you up on that. I'm a little unclear on your example, but I'll assume you mean that the Boston-born Irish-Catholic supporter is an American citizen still living in Boston. That's very simple, and no different than what I told you earlier. It is your duty as an American citizen not to reveal secrets to any other country (or to reveal secrets to anybody knowing that the information will end up in the hands of another country). I hope you didn't think my answer would be any different for Israel than it would for any other country. My husband is a naturalized American citizen from Chile, and he used to be in the U.S. Navy before he became an American citizen. He loves Chile, it's very close to his heart. His dad and many family members are still there. But, if he came across information that was vital to Chilean security, but the information was top secret U.S. government info and he was ordered to keep it to himself, he knows that it is his duty as an American not to reveal it. He took the citizenship oath very seriously. He meant every word he said.

66 posted on 10/31/2001 7:15:29 AM PST by wimpycat
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To: Sabramerican
I was perplexed at what would compel you to post a new thread.

You seem quite interested in this post. You have posted a large number of the replies on the thread. Yet you complain that I posted it. Why does this article bother you so much? But we know why, don't we, dual citizen?

67 posted on 10/31/2001 7:21:02 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: wimpycat
I wonder how sabra would look upon a service member who held dual citizenships for the US and Syria? Or a dual Israel/Syria citizen having access to top secret Israeli documents?
68 posted on 10/31/2001 7:25:11 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: wimpycat
I were discussing holding dual citizenship as a concept. And loyalty as a concept. Citizenship is not like marriage. Most people don't choose it, it's happenstance. If fact, as they say of the love for adopted children, those of us who purposely choose the US manifest a greater love.

But, and this again proves my point- and I will end here- you write that citizenship qualifies you for such rights as fully participating (lets read that as voting) in a country. That's not exactly true. I don't vote in Israel. And Israelis born in the US don't vote here. There reason is that citizenship is not sufficient, you also need to be a resident.

I am a citizen, live, work, vote and pay taxes in the United States. My Israeli citizenship is manifested by my holding an Israel passport without which I could never travel to Israel as they would not let me out of the country on my American passport alone. At this time, for me, my Israeli citizenship is an issue of paperwork. My affection for Israel would be identical was I a citizen or not.

69 posted on 10/31/2001 7:25:58 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: Sabramerican
Sabra, any respect I had for you is gone after this thread. Here you admit you hold dual citizenships and refer to your US citizenship as just a piece of paper having no meaning. Do you blow your nose with it? What is the US Constitution to you? Bird cage liner?
70 posted on 10/31/2001 7:27:28 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: AshleyMontagu
You may have noticed that the original issue as turned into a different discussion and I am participating because I am being questioned.

Did you ask your question as a ploy to have me continue?

71 posted on 10/31/2001 7:29:56 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: AshleyMontagu
Gosh Ashley you should have waited for #69.

Do I have your respect again? LOL

72 posted on 10/31/2001 7:32:10 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: Sabramerican
Too late Sab. Your words are still there no matter how you might use your lawyerly skills to weasel out of them. Some day FR might have a self-edit after posting ability. Not yet though so you're stuck.
73 posted on 10/31/2001 7:35:00 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: Sabramerican
My Israeli citizenship is manifested by my holding an Israel passport without which I could never travel to Israel as they would not let me out of the country on my American passport alone.

What does this mean? Only Israeli citizens are allowed to leave Israel when visiting? Strange policy.

74 posted on 10/31/2001 7:37:22 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: AshleyMontagu
So you're saying you don't respect me after #69?
75 posted on 10/31/2001 7:37:29 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: Sabramerican
So you're saying you don't respect me after #69?

Good one.

76 posted on 10/31/2001 7:41:37 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: AshleyMontagu
Ashley. If you are going to prove that you are not very bright, I don't want your respect.

Anyone who has ever had Israeli citizenship (by birth, etc) must enter- but most particularly-leave Israel using an Israeli passport.

77 posted on 10/31/2001 7:42:44 AM PST by Sabramerican
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To: Sabramerican
You are in full obfuscation mode. This does not explain you holding dual citizenship. Nor does it explain your nonchalant attitude toward these citizenships. Cosmopolitan man are we?
78 posted on 10/31/2001 7:46:52 AM PST by AshleyMontagu
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To: Sabramerican
My Israeli citizenship is manifested by my holding an Israel passport without which I could never travel to Israel as they would not let me out of the country on my American passport alone.

How does that work? Only Israeli citizens can visit Israel?

79 posted on 10/31/2001 7:47:43 AM PST by Rodney King
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To: Sabramerican
Sorry, you answered right before I posted.
80 posted on 10/31/2001 7:48:12 AM PST by Rodney King
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