Aviem Sella

Aviem Sella was a General in the Israeli Air Force. He was a combat veteran of the Six Day War, commanded Operation Opera and masterminded an air assault during the 1982 Lebanon War where 86 Syrian aircraft were shot down with no Israeli losses.

Sella recruited Jon Pollard to spy for Israel while posing as a graduate student in New York. He was indicted on espionage charges in 1987. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4DF113DF937A35750C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "U.S. Jurors Indict An Israeli Officer On Spying Counts".] Werner, Leslie Maitland (March 4, 1987) "New York Times"] Pollard's Israeli handlers were granted immunity from prosecution in the US in exchange for cooperation after Pollard's arrest. Sella's role, however, was unknown at the time and the Israelis were not forthcoming about his involvement. For this reason, Sella was not given immunity by the US when his role was uncovered. Sella was promoted to Brigadier General after Pollard's arrest and given a prestigious command of an Israeli air base, but he had to step down after the U.S. Congress threatened to cut aid to Israel in the face of their subterfuge. [cite book|last=Olive|first=Ronald J.|title=Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=2006|isbn=9781591146520|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wHoAWHUzqCwC]

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