Steven J. Rosen, a staunch supporter of Israel who strengthened the clout of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), but whose career was derailed when he was charged with leaking government secrets, a case that was later dropped, died on Oct. 28 near his home in Silver Spring, MD. He was 82.

Mr. Rosen was a prominent behind-the-scenes figure in Washington as the director of foreign policy issues for AIPAC from the 1980s to thew early 2000s. He forged ties with officials in the State Department and the White House to promote American support of lsrael.

Mr. Rosen had worked for AIPAC for 23 years when in 2005, under the World War I-era Espionage Act, he was charged with sharing secret national security information with journalists and the Israeli Embassy. By 2009, the case had collapsed and all charged were dropped.