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Could someone explain why the venom against this particular fellow? He's served 20 years. And he didn't give secrets to an enemy state.

Let me explain myself, I think in this instance I can speak for many of my fellow FReepers, although they are fully able to speak for themselves.

Mr. Pollard took classified information from my country and gave said classified information to a foreign power. He raised his right hand and voluntarily swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic, the same way I did. He voluntarily broke that oath, not because someone held a gun at his head, not because his family was being held hostage, not because he was outsmarted/tricked by another spy and not because Israel was his true home country. He is an American citizen who willingly spied for a foreign power.

As both nickcarraway and Dave S have already stated the information he gave to Israel was in turn given to the USSR, which at that time was very much an enemy state. He should have know that. I know that if I give any information to members of the intelligence community of France, Sweden, Austria (non of which are enemy states) that information will end up in Iran (which may well become an enemy state). I know this because it is part of my job to know it, just as it was part of Mr. Pollard's job to know where the secrets he had sworn to safeguard would most likely end up.

I don't know how I would react under a sever beating let alone anything worse, nor do I know how I would react if my niece was held hostage. However, I do know how I would react if asked to give up the secrets (as low level as what I know is) of the computer system I am responsible for to any foreigner power -- even Great Britain or Australia -- I would say NO, emphatically NO.

I feel such venom against any American citizen who voluntarily spies on my country. That person is a traitor and traitors deserver no sympathy.