---
category: Intelligence Concept
summary: Dual loyalty is a concept that has been a concern to the American intelligence
  community since the creation of Israel in 1948.
tags:
- Concept
- Politics
- Intelligence
---

Dual loyalty is a concept that has been a concern to the American intelligence community since the creation of [Israel](/places/israel/) in 1948. It refers to the perceived conflict of allegiance for American Jews who also have strong commitments to the security of [Israel](/places/israel/). This concern has led to practices such as routinely barring American Jews from dealing with Israeli issues inside [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) headquarters and excluding them from Hebrew language training in the [NSA](/organizations/nsa/).[^1]

[Lewis L. Strauss](/people/lewis-l-strauss/)'s actions, particularly his private approval of [Israel](/places/israel/)'s nuclear weapons program despite his public stance against proliferation, exemplify the issue of dual loyalty. The notion of dual loyalty, however, is not solely a Jewish problem, as the incredible travails and sufferings of Jewish survivors during World War II garnered enormous appeal from Americans of all backgrounds. The primary effect of "dual loyalty" has been a form of self-censorship that has prevented the [United States](/places/united-states/) government from dealing rationally and coherently with the strategic and political issues raised by a nuclear-armed [Israel](/places/israel/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 7.