===========RUMOR MILL NEWS AGENCY===========

APRIL 21, 2000

JEWISH HERALD

http://www.herald.com/

Published Wednesday, April 19, 2000, in the Miami Herald

CIA accused of anti-Semitism BY GERALD SCHWARTZ jewishherald@herald.com The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States has practiced anti-Semitism in its failure to promote and then in firing Adam Cirlasky, a 28-year-old attorney from Washington, D.C. That was the charge leveled by Neal M. Sher, former national executive director of the American- Israel Public Affairs Committee, at three South Florida meetings sponsored by Boys Town of Jerusalem and its Florida Friends Committee.

Sher, who is legal counsel for Ciralsky, recently appeared on a segment of CBS-TV's 60 Minutes program. The CIA declined an invitation to counter the charges on the show, according to Sher and the television program's producer.

Sher spoke at an April 10 luncheon held at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center at which Rose Nagler of North Miami Beach received the Gates of Jerusalem Award from Boys Town, an Israeli educational institution from junior high through college. She is active in Amit, the Jewish National Fund and Young Israel of Sunny Isles.

Ethel and Leonard Smith of Hallandale were presented the Boys Town Lifetime Achievement Award at the luncheon, which also memorialized Robert ``Ruby'' Salstein of Miami Lakes. The Smiths are active in the Technion, Bar- Ilan University, Hadassah and ORT. Salstein was active in the Chabad Movement and Boys Town of Jerusalem.

Sher also was the featured speaker the same afternoon at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach. Honorees at the event were Rose and Gary Bernstein of Boca Raton, Philip Langwald of Delray Beach, and Anita and Paul Sigel of Delray Beach.

In the evening, he spoke at the Aventura home of Monique and Alex Halberstein. Halberstein is president of the Florida Friends of Boys Town of Jerusalem. Sidney Cooperman of Bay Harbor Islands is chairman of the board of the organization.

Sher served as director of the Offices of Special Investigations in the United States Justice Department from 1983 through 1994. He became known as America's ``chief Nazi hunter'' and was responsible for the initiation and coordination of a massive effort to discover, prosecute and/or deport scores of Nazi war criminals hiding in the United States.

His passion now clearly is in the suit filed by Ciralsky against the CIA. It charges that the CIA is guilty of both discrimination and anti- Semitic behavior.

Sher said, ``Most of the American Jewish establishment has failed to take a stand on this significant matter.

For example, he said, the Anti-Defamation League conducted sensitivity training for the CIA and now sidesteps the issue.

Responding to a question, Sher said, ``Some American Jewish leaders are restrained by the Pollard case. There an American Jew was guilty of spying for Israel, with the only question being the length of his sentence. Here, an American Jew was denied promotion and fired because of his having visited Israel and for normal Jewish support of that country.''

Rabbi Simcha Freedman, executive director of the Florida Friends of Boys Town of Jerusalem, coordinated the three meetings and Sher's visit.