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April 16, 1999/30 Nisan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 29
Attorney claims anti-Semitism rampant at CIA
MATTHEW DORF
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - A Jewish attorney on forced leave from the CIA has decided to file a lawsuit which claims that rampant anti-Semitism at the spy agency has destroyed his career.
Armed with memos from top CIA brass and similar horror stories from other Jewish government officials, Adam Ciralsky is suing for unspecified damages. He plans to file the lawsuit in federal court in Washington later this month, according to his attorney, Neal Sher.
The allegations have touched a raw nerve with many current and former Jewish federal employees who have faced routine CIA background investigations. Many believe that the 1987 conviction of Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard for spying for Israel places them under heightened suspicion.
The CIA put the 27-year-old Ciralsky on leave with pay in October 1997, after he failed a lie-detector test that centered around his support for Israel and past contacts with Israelis. Internal CIA memos released by Sher show an agency bent on dismissing Ciralsky and appear to question his loyalty to the United States based on his family's support for the United Jewish Appeal and Israel Bonds.
"They trot out all the old canards and put into question any Jew who participates in the most lawful of activities, giving to charity," said Sher, a former head of the Justice Department's Nazi-hunting unit and a past executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
In an effort to settle the dispute out of court, the two sides engaged in settlement talks, according to Sher. As the talks heated up last month, the CIA revoked Ciralsky's pay, according to Sher. The talks have now broken down altogether.
The CIA refuses to talk specifically about the case, citing federal privacy law that prevents them from discussing current employees without their permission. But after Sher launched a publicity blitz about the case last week, the CIA vehemently denied any charges of anti-Semitism.
Amplifying denials made last June when Ciralsky's charges were first reported, three former CIA directors released a joint statement April 9, condemning anti-Semitism and denying any anti-Jewish bias at the agency. Former director John Deutch went one step further, adding, "I am Jewish and during my entire experience with the CIA - since I first came into contact with it in 1975 throughout my tenure as [director] which concluded in 1997 - I never encountered any hint of anti-Semitism at any point."
After National Public Radio reported on the case April 9, CIA Director George Tenet issued a statement to employees. "I will not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of discrimination at the agency," he said in the statement. "Anti-Semitism is repugnant to me and to all that our agency and our country stand for."
A CIA panel that included former CIA Director William Webster, established to investigate the Ciralsky allegations and the charges of anti-Semitism, found no evidence to support the accusations, Tenet said.
Ciralsky is not the only Jew who has experienced anti-Semitism in government positions, according to Sher. At least two other Jewish employees of the CIA who require security clearances have run into trouble with the agency, the attorney said.
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