‘Dual loyalty’? Jewish Biden official called out for supporting Israel

Anne Neuberger, a recent Biden pick who is Jewish, has been called out for supporting AIPAC.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

In what would have seemed unthinkable only a short time ago given the bipartisan support for Israel, a Biden pick’s suitability for a cybersecurity post is being questioned because she donated to AIPAC, America’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group.

Anne Neuberger, the National Security Agency’s cybersecurity director, was announced as the new deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology by the Biden administration in mid-January. Accounts at the time depicted her as eminently suitable for the job, having served also as head of the “Russia Small Group,” which handled Russian cybersecurity threats.

Through a family foundation, Neuberger, who is Jewish, donated $500,000 to AIPAC. The news was first reported by the far left journal Mother Jones. The article seems to suggest there is a conflict of interest, and by doing so indirectly raises a dual loyalty charge against Neuberger.

NBC, which ran with the Mother Jones story, subsequently apologized for the shabby reporting involved.

After fielding protests from readers, it said:

“After a number of readers raised issues with this article, NBC News conducted a review and has determined that it fell short of our reporting standards. In order to warrant publication, it needed on-the-record quotes from critics, rather than anonymous ones. The article should have also included more views from those who believe that donations to AIPAC do not represent a conflict. And it did not give Neuberger adequate time to respond to our reporting. NBC News is leaving the article on our website in the interest of full transparency with our readers.”

It would represent a sea change if support for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a nonpartisan group promoting strong U.S.-Israel ties, is considered a disqualification from office.

AIPAC’s annual conference, a nonpartisan affair, routinely features a slew of both Democratic and Republican politicians, who all agree on the “unbreakable” bond between the two countries.