Introducing Dan Pollak, director of ZOA Government Relations

Since 2007, Dan Pollak has been directing operations for the Zionist Organization of America at their Washington, D.C. office where his role is to help educate members of Congress, their staff, and other government officials on the relationship between the United States and Israel as well as on policy issues relating to the Middle East.

Pollak is coming to Orlando on Sunday, Aug. 11, to present two topics at two different synagogues. At 1:30 p.m. he will be at the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation to discuss, “Is the Rift Between the U.S. and Israeli Governments Fixable? At 4 p.m. he will be at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland to speak about “Now is Not the Time to Talk About a Palestinian State. Admission is free to the community, but RSVPs are required. To attend contact, azur@zoa.com.

When asked why he is speaking on these topics at this time, Pollack replied, “The terrible attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has shattered the illusion of safety that Jews have felt in America. The war in Gaza, the virulent antisemitic discourse all over the internet today, the violent eruption of protests on our college campuses along with the rise in harassment, threats and violent attacks against Jews in America has shattered our sense of safety. The Zionist Organization of America mission is as important today than when it was founded in New York in 1897.”

Pollak was born on Long Island where he grew up in the town of Commack, N.Y. His parents were conservate Jews and his mother kept a Kosher home.

“After my bar mitzvah my parents moved us to Canton, Ohio. My father had an opportunity to open a family movie theater concept that was founded by Jerry Lewis. We had four theaters next to one another, ready to incorporate the parent companies’ brand, but they went out of business prior to our opening. My parents adjusted by becoming regular theaters showing A run movies. I attended high school and worked in the concession stand and as I gained experience, I actually managed them at one point. Eventually, my father sold the business and retired thereafter.”

Pollack attended Miami University located in Oxford, Ohio on a full Navy ROTC scholarship. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Statistics. After graduation, to fulfill his scholarship commitments, he fulfilled his military service obligation by applying to and being accepted into the United States Navy’s, elite Submariner Force.

“In order to qualify I had to go through a “stress interview conducted by Admiral Hyman Rickover who was 80 years old at that time. Rickover, who was Jewish, was known as the ‘Father of the Nuclear Navy,’ who obtained the rank of a four-star admiral. During my interview, Rickover abruptly threw me out of his office. Looking back, I was a kid, only 21 years old and this iconic admiral of the Navy cursed me out and then threw me out of his office. He had me sit in a small room by myself for hours to contemplate his wrath. Evidently, it was a test to see if candidates’ judgement skills were sound and if they had the right stuff. I passed his test and began the process of becoming a submariner.”

Pollak’s training brought him to Orlando, New York and then to Groton, Connecticut after which he began serving as a nuclear Submarine Officer during the cold war.

“The longest deployment I was on was one where we were submerged for ninety-one days.

It was an adventure of a lifetime however, I was young, single and after four and a half years in the Navy it was time to move on.”

After a short stint working for Westinghouse in the nuclear industry in Chicago, Ill. he moved to Moorestown, New Jersey where he went to work for RCA/General Electric. It then became Martin Marietta, now Lockheed Martin. Pollak worked designing combat systems for Aegis guided missile cruisers as well as well as Sea Wolf class submarines.

And remarkably, during this time, Pollak attended New Jersey Institute for Technology part time, where he worked toward and received his Master of Science degree in Computer Science.

He met his wife during this period and soon after their son was born.

Eventually Pollak transitioned to a non-defense job as he had a desire to use his university training in computer sciences, which was an up-and-coming field in the 1990s. For 25 years he pursued a career in the Information Technology industry spending most of his time working for NMBA Bank, which was acquired by Bank of America.

In the background of Pollak’s life, he always was actively involved in Jewish organizations. He was a member of AZA during his high school years. During college he was involved with AZYF — a charitable foundation, which focused on college campus activism for Israel. After serving in the Navy, he made several trips to Israel, which solidified and sparked his pro-Israel activism. “After my second trip to Israel I sincerely considered making Aliyah, however, I realized that I had no family there and I would miss them terribly.

“As a volunteer with the Zionist Organization of America, in 2005, I was asked to go with Mort Klein, the president of ZOA, to lobby Joe Biden who was the chairman of the Foreign Senate Relations committee. We went to speak to him about the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which ZOA opposed at the time. After that trip Mort Klein ask me to come to work for him, which I did in 2007,” he said.

When asked Pollak what his current goals are in lobbying the political figures in the United States Government, he and ZOA has prioritized three things in order:

Firs, Iran remains an existential threat to Israel because of their pursuit of a military nuclear capability, which would be an unacceptable threat to both Israeli and American national security. “We must not allow them to ever have nuclear capabilities. “

Second, support for Israel in its current war with Iranian proxies, including Hamas, which must be completely defeated, and all hostages released. After the war, no terrorists can be left under either Hamas or PLO control, and the PA cannot be closer to their political goals.

Third, fighting antisemitism from the left and the right. “It is outrageous that in Congress itself antisemitism has gone unpunished. Our university campuses are awash with Jew-hatred, and politicians of both parties must do more to enforce existing laws against antisemitism.”

Dan Pollak is on the front lines fighting for American Jews and Israel.

We all will have the opportunity to lend him our support in his and ZOA’s mission at one of the meetings on Aug. 11.