Aviem Sella

Aviem Sella was born in Haifa during the Mandatory Palestine era.

He studied at the Hebrew Reali School, and was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1963. Sella is married to Yehudit, a lawyer, and has three children. He completed his PhD at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Management and earned a degree in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He served in the Israeli Air Force as a fighter pilot. In 1967, he fought in the Six-Day War with 109 Squadron. He was one of the first Israeli pilots to fly F-4 Phantom jets. He fought in the War of Attrition of 1967-1970, participating in Operation Priha (January–April 1970) and Operation Rimon 20 (July 1970). The outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 found Sella in the United States studying at a professional course; he returned to Israel and fought in the war as deputy commander of 69 Squadron. In total, he shot down five enemy aircraft during his service.

Between 1976 and 1979 he commanded 201 Squadron,{{cite journal|url=http://www.iaf.org.il/2079-28026-he/IAF.aspx|script-title=he:לא סתם "אחת"|first=Shay|last=Tal|journal=Israeli Air Force Magazine|issue=181|date=June 26, 2008|language=Hebrew|publisher=Israeli Air Force|access-date=March 7, 2014}} and between 1980 and 1983, he served as the Air Force's Director of Operations. He commanded Operation Opera, the air strike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, and was a commanding officer in Operation Mole Cricket 19 during the 1982 Lebanon War.{{Cite journal|volume=145|issue=June 2002|last1=Schlein|first1=Lior|first2=Noam|last2=Ophir|title = Six Days in June|journal=IAF Magazine|access-date=2008-09-10|url=http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/Journal/Journal.In.aspx&lang=HE&lobbyID=50&folderID=621&subfolderID=623&docfolderID=625&docID=19927|language=he}}

After serving in the 1982 Lebanon War, Sella took a sabbatical to the United States to study, and earned an MA in computer science at New York University. While pursuing a PhD, Sella recruited Jonathan Pollard to spy for Israel. Pollard was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty to espionage charges in 1987.[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/04/us/us-jurors-indict-an-israeli-officer-on-spying-counts.html?pagewanted=all U.S. Jurors Indict An Israeli Officer On Spying Counts.] Werner, Leslie Maitland (March 4, 1987) New York Times Sella fled the United States and returned to Israel immediately after Pollard's arrest.

Pollard's Israeli handlers were granted immunity from prosecution in the United States 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 U.S. when his role was uncovered. Israel then refused to extradite Sella for questioning. In March 1987 a Federal grand jury indicted Sella on three counts of espionage which carried a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a $500,000 fine.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/04/us/us-jurors-indict-an-israeli-officer-on-spying-counts.html|work=The New York Times|title=U.S. JURORS INDICT AN ISRAELI OFFICER ON SPYING COUNTS|date=March 4, 1987}} Israel was not required to extradite him under the US-Israel extradition treaty, as the treaty does not cover cases of espionage.[https://apnews.com/article/55804fcd29da865fb96dd6d04af0ee54 U.S. Issues ‘No-Contact’ Order With Aviem Sella]

On March 3, 1987,{{Cite web|last=Shargorodsky|first=Sergei|date=1987-03-30|title=Alleged Pollard Recruiter Resigns Post|url=https://apnews.com/article/86bbfa3878e2e1ff896ac28ccd9a21c2|access-date=2021-11-27|website=AP News}} when Sella was given command of Tel Nof Airbase, the U.S. Congress reacted by threatening to cut aid to Israel. U.S. officials in Israel were instructed to have no contact with Sella or with the airbase so long as he commanded it.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/12/world/shultz-distressed-by-israel-spy-case.html |work=The New York Times | first=David K. | last=Shipler | title=Shultz 'Distressed' By Israel Spy Case|date=March 12, 1987}} Israel refused to relieve him of his duties, creating tensions. Sella then resigned on March 30, to defuse US-Israel tensions,{{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=978-1-59114-652-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHoAWHUzqCwC}} and was subsequently appointed an instructor at Israel's National Security College.{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/05/world/israeli-in-pollard-s-spy-case-named-a-military-instructor.html | work=The New York Times| title=Israeli in Pollard's Spy Case Named a Military Instructor | date=April 5, 1987}}

U.S. President Donald Trump granted Sella a full pardon on January 20, 2021.

In September 2021, Sella was promoted to brigadier general, at the request of Amikam Norkin, commander of the IAF, with the approval from IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, and Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz. He was originally promoted to brigadier general in March 1987, but left the IAF before actually receiving the rank.{{Cite web|last1=Ahronheim|first1=Anna|last2=Hoffman|first2=Gil|date=2021-09-01|title=Jonathan Pollard's former handler gets promoted to brigadier general|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/former-handler-of-jonathan-pollard-gets-promoted-to-brigadier-general-678328|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-27|website=The Jerusalem Post|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901084014/https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/former-handler-of-jonathan-pollard-gets-promoted-to-brigadier-general-678328 |archive-date=September 1, 2021 }}

In 1990 he founded "Sibm", an IT company, which acted as a consultant on information systems. In September 2003, he sold his company - which had 40 employees - to Matrix ID Ltd and became director of strategic consulting at Matrix's Security Division.{{cite web|url=http://www.matrix.co.il/About/Pages/Management.aspx|title=Management|publisher=Matrix|access-date=January 20, 2021|archive-date=December 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202104754/https://www.matrix.co.il/About/Pages/Management.aspx|url-status=dead}} From 2005 to 2006, he served as chairman of the Adam Milo Institute in Jerusalem. He also became a business partner of Alexander Beer, a brewery based in the Emek Hefer Industrial Park.

After serving 30 years in prison (1985-2015){{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/why-jonathan-pollard-spent-30-years-in-prison/|title=Why Jonathan Pollard spent 30 years in prison|date=August 2, 2015|publisher=The Times of Israel|access-date=August 8, 2015}} and five further years under parole in the United States, Pollard's parole expired on November 20, 2020,{{Cite web|last=Magid|first=Jacob|title=Jonathan Pollard's parole terminated, ex-spy free to travel to Israel|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jonathan-pollards-parole-terminated-ex-spy-free-to-travel-to-israel/|access-date=November 20, 2020|work=The Times of Israel|language=en-US}} and the next month he moved to Israel.{{Cite web|author=T. O. I. Staff|title=Jonathan Pollard arrives in Israel, 35 years after his arrest for spying|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jonathan-pollard-arrives-in-israel-35-years-after-his-imprisonment-for-spying/|access-date=December 30, 2020|work=The Times of Israel|date=December 30, 2020|language=en-US}}

During the morning of January 20, 2021, the last half-day of Donald Trump's U.S. Presidency, the White House announced that Trump had granted a full pardon to Sella. The announcement stated that the State of Israel had requested the pardon and had issued a full and unequivocal apology. The announcement also stated that Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Miriam Adelson had supported Sella's request for clemency.

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Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:Israeli businesspeople

Category:Israeli Air Force personnel

Category:Israeli Jews

Category:Israeli spies

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Tel Aviv University alumni

Category:Hebrew Reali School alumni

Category:Businesspeople from Haifa

Category:Military personnel from Haifa

Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni

Category:People pardoned by Donald Trump