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Rabbis want answers on AIPAC staffers’ case

By Eric Fingerhut · May 19, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- More than 150 rabbis signed a letter to the U.S. attorney general seeking an investigation into why criminal charges were brought against two former AIPAC employees.

Organized by AMCHA-The Coalition of Jewish Concerns, the letter to Eric Holder says that the prosecution of Keith Weissman and Steve Rosen on charges of illegally passing classified information "should be reviewed because the handling of this matter has, in the opinion of many, placed a cloud of suspicion on the loyalties of Jews in the United States and raised questions about their patriotism."

The prosecution dropped the case earlier this month.

The letter asks the Justice Department to probe a number of questions surrounding the case, including whether "anti-Semitism and/or anti-Israel sentiments" played any role in the charges. It also asks for "recommendations on how to ensure that a similar unjust prosecution can be avoided in the future."

In addition, the group requests an opportunity to meet with Holder and his leadership team to further explain its concerns.

"The case represents an enormous miscarriage of justice, and should never have been brought in the first place," the letter says.

Signatories include members of the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements, including outgoing United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism executive vice president Rabbi Jerome Epstein and outgoing Orthodox Union executive vice president Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, as well as Weinreb's successor, Rabbi Steven Weil.

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