CIA Official Posted Pro-Palestinian Image to Facebook

A high-ranking CIA official posted a pro-Palestinian image to Facebook two weeks after the attack on Israel by Hamas, a move that some former intelligence officials said showed “poor judgment,” Financial Times reported.

The CIA’s associate deputy director for analysis, who the Times did not identify due to concern for her safety, changed her Facebook cover photo to an image of a man waving a Palestinian flag. A person familiar with the situation told the Times that “the officer is a career analyst with extensive background in all aspects of the Middle East and this post was not intended to express a position on the conflict.”

The source also noted that the official has posted previously about standing against antisemitism. The official did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment and later deleted multiple Facebook posts from the last year, including the one showing the Palestinian flag.

One former intelligence official criticized the decision to post the picture in the first place, saying: “The public posting of an obviously controversial political statement by a senior analytic manager in the middle of a crisis shows glaringly poor judgment.”

Another former intelligence official said: “Given the role director [William] Burns is playing in the ongoing crisis in Israel, social media activity along these lines by a senior US intelligence officer reflects exceptionally and surprisingly bad judgment.”

A third former official said: “Given the CIA’s longstanding incredibly close relationship with the Israelis in a liaison capacity, this would be highly irregular for a senior agency official.”

“CIA officers are committed to analytic objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an agency,” the CIA said in a statement. “CIA officers may have personal views, but this does not lessen their — or CIA’s — commitment to unbiased analysis.”