POLITICAL DEPARTMENT.See CENTER FOR POLITICAL RE-
SEARCH; INFORMATION SERVICE.POLLARD, JONATHAN JAY (1954– ).An American Jew, born in
Galveston, Texas, Pollard was former civilian intelligence analyst
working for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in the
Naval Antiterrorist Alert Center in Washington, D.C., who was con-
victed of spying for Israel.
In 1984 Colonel Aviam Sellaof the Israel Air Force (IAF) was on
sabbatical leave in New York City studying computers. In April of
that year, Sella met Pollard at a party in the apartment of a wealthy
Jewish gynecologist on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. From a
brief, polite conversation between the two, Sella learned of Pollard’s
profession. He also got the impression that Pollard was a committed
Zionist. Sella was astonished to hear of the many instances in which
the U.S. intelligence community did not cooperate with its Israeli
counterpart.
For a while, Sella suspected that Pollard might be involved in a
sting operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) trying to
recruit an Israeli, but he subsequently concluded that Pollard was
telling him the truth. Sella phoned the head of the IAF intelligence
branch in Tel Aviv. The latter consulted with the IAF commander, and
Sella was instructed to go ahead in fostering his contacts with Pol-
lard. Sella and Pollard held their meetings in New York at various lo-
cations. At each meeting, Pollard handed Sella an envelope contain-
ing documents photocopied from his office. Pollard’s first deliveries
were meant to convince Sella that he was trustworthy. Sella couriered
the documents to Israel.
Pollard also visited Yossi Yagur in the Israeli consulate in New
York. Formally, Yagur was the Israeli scientific attaché, but actually
he headed the U.S. station of Israel’s Bureau of Scientific Liaison
(LAKAM). Sella invited Yagur to dinner with Pollard. On this occa-
sion, Pollard related many instances in which the United States de-
nied Israel information essential to defend itself against Arab terror-
ists. The reason for this denial, he said, was that the United States did
not want to upset Arab oil-producing countries. Using the consulate’s
secure phone, Yagur at once called his superior in Tel Aviv, Rafael
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