Israel's spy, pardoned by Trump after decades of evading extradition to US trial, becomes general in delayed advertising

Aviem Sella, whom the United States for decades tried to extradite from Israel to stand trial for espionage, has received a symbolic promotion in rank. It was announced days after a meeting between the leaders of the two nations.

Sella, 75, was the focal point of a major scandal that created a rift between the United States and its allies in the Middle East back in the 1980s. The Israel Air Force fighter pilot took a sabbatical in the United States and had, while there, recruited U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard. Pollard abused his access to American secrets to sell them to the Israelis. He was eventually captured and sent to prison.

Sella’s role as Pollard’s trader was not disclosed to U.S. officers investigating Pollard’s activities, and unlike other Israeli officials involved in the case, he was not granted immunity from prosecution by the United States. He instead returned to Israel, which then refused to extradite him at a U.S. request.

The evasion of justice remained a thorn in the side of bilateral relations through the 1980s. It peaked in 1987 when Israel announced Sella’s promotion to brigadier general and the position of head of Tel Nof Airbase, just as a US court accused him on three counts of espionage. The US Congress even threatened to withhold US military aid to Israel in retaliation.

In the midst of the scandal, Sella resigned his command of the base, while his promotion to military rank never materialized. He left active service with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in 1993, still as a colonel. The delayed promotion, which was announced by Israeli officials on Wednesday, gives him the rank he was supposed to get over three decades ago.

The IDF said Sella would get the credit at a ceremony in which Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi attended Tel Aviv Army Headquarters. It was recommended by the head of the Israeli Air Force, Amikam Norkin, and proved by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

American Justice remained formally interested in Sella’s extradition and trial until January, when President Donald Trump in his final hours in office pardoned the Israeli officer, among dozens of others.

Sella’s promotion was announced days after Naftali Bennett visited the United States for his first meeting with President Joe Biden in his new role as Israeli Prime Minister. The summit was supposed to repair a rift that had grown between the United States and Israel in the months between Biden’s inauguration and Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, in June.

According to it, Netanyahu’s intelligence services have snubbed their US counterparts several times when conducting operations against Iran. It is someone’s guess how to interpret the honor bestowed on Sella, given his role in Israeli espionage against the United States and the connection to Trump.

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