There was a time when Sheldon G. Adelson seemed famous for his anonymity. He built casinos, backed politicians and contributed millions of dollars to a variety of causes but stayed behind the scenes.

The big news out of Barack Obama’s appearance before a pro-Israel lobby group today was not his predictably strong defense of Israel, but the emissary who accompanied him to make introductions to its board.

America’s most powerful pro-Israel lobby says that’s the currency of everyday life in the nation’s capital. The Justice Department, however, is calling it espionage, and will finally get to make its case next month when two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), go on trial in federal court in Alexandria, Va., for allegedly passing classified information about Iran and Iraq to Israeli officials, colleagues and the media.