James Angleton: The CIA Spymaster Who Buried Israel’s JFK Secrets

James Jesus Angleton wasn’t just a Cold War spy—he was a power broker who redefined the U.S.-Israel intelligence relationship, often at America’s expense. While the U.S. remembers him as a paranoid counterintelligence chief who overstepped his bounds and fell in disgrace, Israel honors him as a foundational ally. They even built two memorials in his name—an extraordinary tribute for a “non-Jewish” American intelligence official. Also, [they] removed James Jesus Angleton’s middle name from the memorials.

Gee—I wonder why?

The Man Who Gave Israel a Free Pass

Angleton’s influence ran deep. Throughout the 1960s, he systematically blocked any efforts within U.S. intelligence to investigate Israel’s nuclear weapons program. He prioritized intelligence-sharing with Israel over American strategic interests, ensuring that whatever Israel did—whether spying, nuclear proliferation, or even killing Americans—was met with silence.

Shielding Israeli Espionage

Angleton’s loyalty to Israel came at a cost. In 1967, when Israel attacked the USS Liberty, killing 34 American sailors, Angleton helped bury the incident. When Israeli operatives smuggled weapons-grade uranium from a Pennsylvania plant to fuel their nuclear program, Angleton looked the other way. His deep ties to Mossad—meeting with its chiefs multiple times a week—gave Israel the ability to act with near-total impunity.

Even within the CIA, suspicions grew. Israeli intelligence chief Teddy Kollek warned Angleton that British operative Kim Philby was a Soviet double agent, but he dismissed the concerns. Philby later defected, humiliating Angleton and damaging U.S. intelligence operations.

A Traitor to Some, A Hero to Others

By the time Angleton was forced out of the CIA in 1975, his reputation in the U.S. was shattered. But Israel never forgot his loyalty. Yitzhak Rabin called him “a friend you could trust on a personal basis.” Former Mossad chief Meir Amit declared him “the biggest Zionist of the lot.”

That admiration endures. Today, Angleton has two memorials in Israel—one outside Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, simply inscribed: “In memory of a dear friend.”

The legacy of James Angleton is clear: he blurred the lines between loyalty and betrayal, ensuring that U.S. policy was permanently entangled with Israeli interests. And for that, Israel remembers him as a hero—even if America doesn’t.

I’ll leave you with this:

Did you know JFK’s brain went missing?

Ask Dr Penfield, using local anesthetics, his “Montreal Procedure” is the removal of the skull cap of the conscious patient to then electroshock and stimulate the brain 🧠.

He was in charge of the autopsy of course….