U.S. Jewish leaders consider financially assisting fired AIPAC officials

Former Pentagon official Larry Franklin was sentenced 10 days ago to 12 years in prison for providing classified information to AIPAC - via Rosen and Weissman - and to Israel via an Israeli Embassy employee in Washington.

As a result of increasing concern over the possible outcome of Rosen and Weissman's trial, a number of U.S. Jewish leaders consulted via telephone this past week to formulate a response to the trial of the former AIPAC employees.

Rosen and Weissman were fired from AIPAC about a year ago after the gravity of the charges against them became partially clear - but AIPAC created the impression that the organization would bear the high costs of the defense. As was published for the first time in Haaretz a few weeks ago, this has not happened.

Three possible courses of action were decided upon by three different U.S. Jewish leaders. (All those involved ask their names be kept confidential). The three decided to either: Give additional financial support to the defendants (certain sums are also now coming to the defendants from a known donor); to divert AIPAC to a channel less alienated from the two; and to publicly condemn the prosecution.

A year has gone by and not a single dollar has arrived. However, a source familiar with AIPAC says Rosen and Weissman are simply not interested in the money now - because it is their intention to sue after the trial. A few months ago, and after consultations with the defendants' lawyers, the two were offered $1.625 million, in addition to funds the lobby had already spent on their defense last year. They rejected the offer.

Click here for a full report on the U.S. Jewish community's response to the AIPAC case by Haaretz's Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner.

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