Bibi wants Pollard back in Texas? Who knew.
The last time a democrat pol offered Johathan Pollard to Israel for massive concessions, he reneged at the last minute after Arafat already accepted the deal. Clinton at Wye River. Kerry’s no better.
Ordinarily The terrorists negotiate with Israel for the release of captured terrorists. Now they have the U.S. negotiating for them to get islamic terrorists out of Israeli prisons.
You gott be sh*ttin’ me - why not throw John Walker into the deal as a freebie ... /s
For those unfamiliar with Jonathan Pollard, before his arrest the Israelis turned him back at the Israeli embassy in Washington DC because at the time they didn’t want to admit they were spying on the US.
Pollard was the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time and was turned into a scapegoat and betrayed by all parties.
After Clinton’s betrayal I’d be surprised if Pollard ever sets a foot on free land again. He’s serving his 29th year in prison for a crime that typically results in 2 to 4 years jail and has been in poor health for several years now.
Netanyahu should refuse to release any more terrorists in any circumstances until Pollard is free.
Leaving Pollard in jail is now officially absurd
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/leaving-pollard-in-jail-is-now-officially-absurd/
The world’s self proclaimed champion of human rights, President Obama, got caught practicing exactly the contrary of the values he says he fights for. He was caught spying on his closest allies, including France and Israel. This hostile behavior requires that hard questions be asked.
President Obama gives lessons to the world about freedom and about the protection of private life, yet an American federal agency is putting in place a “big brother” system with the objective of spying on American and foreign citizens, diplomats, and Government officials! Those activities are practiced with no judiciary control. President Obama’s policy is the contrary of the values that America stands for.
This behavior is unacceptable.
This autumn, the public learned that the Americans had targeted the European Commission as well as different ministries of many European countries. One can understand the furor of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who was not too pleased to learn that his secret communications were tapped by our American friends!
President Obama also had to deal with the anger of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. She was not happy to discover that her very own cell phone was tapped by the NSA, and that all her conversations were shared with American agents based in Fort Meade, Maryland.
And in the past few days, it has been made public that the NSA was also spying on Israel, despite the mutual non-spying agreement signed in 1985 between the two allies! Between 2008 and 2011, the NSA has been illegally listening to many Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister at the time, Ehud Olmert, and the Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Notable Quotes in Support of Jonathan Pollard’s Release
Justice4JPNews - Originally published January 30, 2011
DIRECTOR OF THE JEWISH AGENCY AND FORMER PRISONER OF ZION, NATAN SHARANSKY:
“The time has come to vigorously and loudly demand his freedom. Twenty-six years is more than enough.” See Jewish Agency For Israel press release.
US FORMER VICE PRESIDENT DAN QUAYLE:
“[A] life sentence for the crime committed is very extreme...I join [many others] in urging a commutation of [Pollard’s] sentence.” See letter.
FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JAMES WOOLSEY:
“[It was clear] 5 years ago that the punishment quite clearly was excessive. It is time for [Jonathan Pollard] to be released...and there should not be any quid pro quo.” See article and video.
FORMER WHITE HOUSE LEGAL COUNSEL BERNARD NUSSBAUM:
“I extensively reviewed the Pollard file... [T]he time has come for Jonathan Pollard’s sentence to be commuted...[A] failure at this time to commute his sentence...would be a miscarriage of justice.” See article and letter.
FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR & PRES. CANDIDATE MIKE HUCKABEE:
“He has served an extraordinary length of time... it would seem now to be a matter of goodwill and a good faith gesture...for the president to release him. [Freeing Pollard] would send the right message to the rest of the world that America is not pulling back on its friendship and relationship with Israel but it is accelerating it and making sure that we are taking every step possible to solidify those bonds.” See article and videos by Arutz7 and JPost.
HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS, RABBI YECHIEL ECKSTEIN:
“Mr. Pollard’s punishment is severely unbalanced...and an excessive miscarriage of justice. Mr. Pollard is now in poor health... I beseech you now to commute Mr. Pollard’s sentence to the 25 long years he has already served.” See letter.
FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE GEORGE SCHULTZ:
“Jonathan Pollard has now paid a huge price for his espionage on behalf of Israel and should be released from prison.” See PDF.
FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL MICHAEL MUKASEY:
“In more than 18 years on the bench, I imposed [life] sentences on four defendants. [Murderers and terrorists]. Pollard’s offense does not nearly approach any of those....Pollard has suffered confinement well beyond the severity of what he did.” See PDF.
FORMER U.S. SENATE SELECT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN DENNIS DECONCINI:
I believe commuting his sentence to time served is the right and compassionate thing to do.” See PDF.
“Pollard has been sufficiently punished, and it is unjust for him to serve any more time in prison.” See PDF.
FORMER U.S. DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY LAWRENCE KORB:
“[T]he severity of Pollard’s sentence is a result of an almost visceral dislike of Israel and the special place it occupies in our foreign policy on the part of my boss at the time, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.” See PDF.
FORMER U.S. NAVY CRYPTOLOGIST AND DAMAGE ASSESSOR MAJOR DONALD LEVY:
“My recollection matches those of Senator Dennis DeConcini, Dr. Lawrence Korb and Mr. R. James Woolsey, all of whom have suggested Secretary of Defense Weinberger seriously inflated the assessment of the damage done by Pollard in his report to Judge Aubrey Eugene Robinson, who presided over Pollard’s case.” See PDF.
FORMER U.S SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CASPAR WEINBERGER:
“[T]he Pollard matter was comparatively minor. It was made far bigger than its actual importance.” See article.
FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL PHILLIP HEYMANN:
“[H]is sentence was entirely out of line with others engaging in similar behavior and it was made less-than-legitimate by a treacherous recommendation of the then Secretary of Defense. There is no evidence that Pollard intended to harm the United States or help its enemies.” See PDF.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MENTOR AND FRIEND: HARVARD LAW SCHOOL PROFESSOR CHARLES OGLETREE:
“I hope the president grants the wishes of many who have supported a pardon for Mr. Pollard.” See article.
GARY BAUER, REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE LEADER:
“[I]t is patently clear that Mr. Pollard’s sentence is severely disproportionate and (as several federal judges have noted) a gross miscarriage of justice... Commuting his sentence to time served would be a wholly appropriate exercise of your power of clemency — as well as a matter of basic compassion and American justice.” See PDF.
39 U.S. CONGRESSMEN:
[T]here has been a great disparity from the standpoint of justice between the amount of time Mr. Pollard has served and the time that has been served - or not served at all - by many others who were found guilty of similar activity on behalf of nations adversarial to us, unlike Israel... [The more than] twenty-five years that Mr. Pollard has served stands as a sufficient time from the standpoint of either punishment or deterrence. See PDF.
OVER 500 RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNAL LEADERS:
“[I]t is patently clear that Pollard’s sentence was and remains terribly disproportionate and constitutes a gross miscarriage of justice.”
“After more than two and a half decades in prison, Mr. Pollard’s health is declining. He has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, and by all accounts has served as a model inmate. .. Commuting his sentence to time served would be a wholly appropriate exercise of your power of clemency - as well as a matter of basic fairness and American justice.” See letter.
DENNIS ROSS, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA:
“I was in favor of Pollard’s release, believing that he had received a harsher sentence than others who had committed comparable crimes. I preferred not tying his release to any agreement, but if that was what we were going to do, then I favored saving it for permanent status.” See book excerpt.
APPELLATE COURT JUSTICE STEPHEN WILLIAMS:
The life sentence meted out to Pollard as a result of a breached plea agreement represents “a fundamental miscarriage of justice.” See item.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NY, AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL:
“...I have seen the documents — his sentence is way beyond the sentence served by other people that have been convicted of the same offense.” See article.
SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER:
“[T]he lifetime sentence imposed on Mr. Pollard is unduly severe and inconsistent with the sentences awarded to other Americans convicted of similar offenses. Indeed, Mr. Pollard’s sentence is harsher than the sentences meted out to individuals convicted of spying for enemy countries and is the harshest sentence in United States history for the crime of spying for an allied country.” See text of letter.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS, FORMER NAACP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
“I have rarely encountered a case in which government arbitrariness was so clear cut and inexcusable. One can argue that Mr. Pollard has been denied due process, given the fact that he was sentenced to life imprisonment without a trial by his peers. Indeed, a comparison of sentences given to individuals convicted of similar crimes demonstrates that Mr. Pollard was singled out for punishment in excess of what others have received, including individuals convicted of aiding our nation’s enemies. See letter.
GEORGE N. LEIGHTON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE:
“[T]he evidence shows that the government engaged in serious misconduct that went unchecked by an ineffective defense counsel and ... these constitutional violations severely prejudiced Mr. Pollard, and resulted in his sentence of life in prison.” See item.
CONRESSMAN ANTHONY WEINER:
“After reviewing the facts of the case and receiving multiple classified briefings on this matter, I believe that [Jonathan Pollard] has served a sentence that far exceeds the appropriate term for the crimes he has committed. Mr. President, the time has come to free Jonathan Pollard.” See letter.
CONGRESSMEN BARNEY FRANK, BILL PASCRELL JR. ED TOWNS, AND ANTHONY WEINER:
“[T]he appeal for clemency is based on the vast disparity between Mr. Pollard’s sentence and the sentences given to many others who have been convicted of similar activities, even with countries that unlike Israel are or have been adversaries of the United States.
“We also note the positive impact that a grant of clemency would have in Israel, as a strong indication of the goodwill of our nation towards Israel and the Israeli people. This would be particularly helpful at a time when the Israeli nation faces difficult decisions in its long-standing effort to secure peace with its neighbors.” See letter.
RABBI CAPERS FUNNYE JR. (Relative of President Obama):
“I write to add my voice to the many voices that have appealed to you for clemency by commuting Jonathan Pollard’s sentence to time served.” See letter.
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT:
[Noting] that Mr. Weinberger stated... it was time that Mr. Pollard should be released; aware that Christian and Jewish organizations throughout the world have pleaded for the harsh sentence of life imprisonment to be commuted and that Judge Steve Williams wrote, in a dissenting opinion to an appellate court finding, that ‘the government’s conduct in this case resulted in a ‘complete miscarriage of justice’,
Urges the US Administration to commute Pollard’s sentence to one of time served and to release him immediately;
Calls on EPC to intercede with the US government with this end in view
See Resolution [Item J - B3-1251/93].
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU:
“At the time of his arrest, Jonathan Pollard was acting as an agent of the Israeli government. Both Mr. Pollard and the Government of Israel have repeatedly expressed remorse for these actions...”
“Jonathan Pollard has reportedly served longer in prison than any person convicted of similar crimes...and his health has deteriorated considerably.
“[T]he United States is a country based on fairness, justice and mercy. For all these reasons, I respectfully ask that you favorably consider this request for clemency for Jonathan Pollard.” See text.
NOAM SHALIT, FATHER OF ABDUCTED SOLDIER GILAD SHALIT
Equating Pollard with Israelis abducted by terrorists, Shalit said, “[The] time has come to free Pollard. We want all the prisoners, missing in action to return home.” See article.
19 FORMER SOVIET PRISONERS OF ZION
“We appeal to you on behalf of a Prisoner of Zion who has been imprisoned in your country for 26 years - Jonathan Pollard...Your silence worries us [Mr. President]. We, former Prisoners of Zion in Soviet Russia, know the danger of silence. We know the terrible suffering that comes with each passing day in prison. Therefore, we appeal to you with a heartfelt cry - end this Jewish prisoner’s prolonged and terrible ordeal!” See letter and article.
SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER
“Based on my experience as District Attorney of Philadelphia, Chairman of The Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman of The Senate Intelligence Committee and my studies of incarceration, I believe Jonathan Pollard has served more than long enough...[S]pying is not an uncommon practice even between allies and friendly nations...Considering all the factors, in my judgment Jonathan Pollard should not have a life sentence...” See letter.
LEE HAMILTON, PRESIDENT’S FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AND HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER; FORMER CONGRESSMAN:
“I do believe that [Jonathan Pollard] has served a disproportionately severe sentence and that he should be promptly released...Commuting his sentence is a matter of basic compassion and justice.” See letter.
RABBI MORDECHAI ELIYAHU zt”l, FORMER CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL AND RISHON LETZION:
“Not only is the case of Jonathan Pollard the mitzvah of Pidyan Shvuyim [the redemption of a captive], it is the highest form of the mitzvah; it is a case of Pidyan Shvuyim for one who was ‘mosser nefesh le’man Am Yisrael’(one who sacrificed himself for Am Yisrael). Jonathan Pollard not only risked his life for Israel, he has endured [26] years of affliction and mistreatment in American prisons for the sake of Am Yisrael...”[I]t is a compulsory Torah command for all of the nation of Israel, both in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora, to utilize every way to influence those who have the power to release him from prison and set him free.” See letter.
DR. HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE AND NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER:
“[H]aving talked with George Shultz and read the statements of former CIA Director Woolsey, former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman DeConcini, former Defense Secretary Weinberger, former Attorney General Mukasey and others whose judgments and first-hand knowledge I respect, I find their unanimous support for clemency compelling... I believe justice would be served by commuting the remainder of Pollard’s sentence of life imprisonment.” See letter.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, ARIZONA STATE SENATOR, AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:
“I support the release of Jonathan Pollard.” See article.
REVEREND PAT ROBERTSON, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK AND WORLD RENOWN HOST OF THE 700 CLUB:
“Over the years I have joined hundreds of religious and political leaders, from both parties, seeking the release of Jonathan Pollard... I respectfully urge your administration to do the compassionate thing and commute the sentence of Jonathan Pollard to the time he has already served.” See letter.
CONGRESSMAN MICHAEL GRIMM, SITTING REP FOR STATEN ISLAND (R) AND FORMER FBI AGENT:
“I am working with many others in Washington to do everything we can to see that justice is done. Justice in this case would be to have Jonathan Pollard released from prison.” See video statement and article.
100 NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATORS:
“We write to urge you to use your constitutional power to extend clemency to Jonathan Pollard, thereby releasing him from prison after the time he has already served... We believe that there has been a great disparity from the standpoint of justice between the amount of time Mr. Pollard has served and the time that has been served -— or not served at all -— by many others who were found guilty of similar activity on behalf of nations that, like Israel, are not adversarial to us. It is indisputable in our view that the nearly twenty-six years that Mr. Pollard has served stands as a sufficient time from the standpoint of either punishment or deterrence.” See letter.
SENATOR ALAN SIMPSON, FORMER WYOMING SENATOR AND CURRENT CO-CHAIR OF PRESIDENT’S ECONOMIC COMMISSION:
“I join many other distinguished Americans to request that you exercise your power of clemency and commute Jonathan Pollard’s prison sentence to time served...
[I]t is patently clear that Mr. Pollard’s sentence is severely disproportionate and (as several federal judges have noted) a gross miscarriage of justice...After more than two decades in the harshest prison conditions, Mr. Pollard’s health is declining. He has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, and by all accounts has been a model prisoner...Commuting his sentence to time served would be a wholly appropriate exercise of your power of clemency - as well as a matter of basic compassion and American justice.” See letter.
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2011/013011.htm
US presidential candidate: Israel has given up enough [Herman Cain]
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/US-presidential-candidate-Israel-has-given-up-enough
Asked about the fate of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, Cain said he was aware that many current and former senior US officials have called to release Pollard on humanitarian grounds. He said that as president, he would review Pollard’s case before making a decision, but based on the information he currently had, he would lean toward releasing Pollard.
Congressman Allen West
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2011/060211.pdf
A letter to the President asking Pollard to be released ...
I believe this was an ad (or some variation of it) in the national papers. I can’t recall when it was, but this is the same information that went out.
They all say - “Now is the time to free Jonathan Pollard.”
It lists ...
Lawrence J Korb
Former US Assistant Secretary of State
Senator Allen K Simpson
Co-chair of the Presidents Economic Commission
Senator Dennis DeConcini
Former Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee
Bernard W Nussbaum
Former White House Council
Michael B Muckasey
Former US Attorney General
George P Shultz
Former US Secretary of State
Henry A Kissinger
Former US Secretary of State
R James Woolsey
Former CIA Director
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2011/051711.jpg
Jonathan Pollard’s wife wrote the following in regards to news article about him in 1998. The information still hasn’t changed since then.
No Treason in Pollard Case
Pollard’s Wife to Globe and Mail: Set the Record Straight
October 25, 1998
by fax and by email
Dear Editor,
Re: Jewish-American Spy A Cause Celebre Around the World - M.Gee & G Abbate Globe and Mail October 24, 1998.
When a man’s fate and his very life hang in the balance, the Globe and Mail has an obligation to do its homework first, instead of recycling old canards and allegations. Contrary to what the Globe and Mail published, here are the facts:
JONATHAN POLLARD DID NOT COMMIT TREASON.
He was never accused of treason. He was never indicted for treason. He was not charged with spying against the US, only with spying on behalf of Israel.
JONATHAN POLLARD DID NOT COMPROMISE US SOURCES AND METHODS.
This is an old canard that the CIA trots out for the media with predictable regularity. In fact, Jonathan Pollard never had access to sources and methods, or codes information .
Even though the real culprits, (Aldrich Ames, David Boone and others), who compromised this sensitive information have since been arrested, the CIA has never stopped scapegoating Pollard for their crimes.
JONATHAN POLLARD DID NOT HARM US SECURITY.
Jonathan Pollard has never been indicted for harming the United States, its agents, its property or its installations. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE THAT WOULD SUPPORT SUCH A CHARGE.
The only information that Jonathan Pollard gave over to the Israeli Government was information related to the vital security of the State of Israel - information that the US had legally pledged to share with Israel.
ONLY ONE INDICTMENT: ONE COUNT OF PASSING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION TO AN ALLY.
The one and only charge on which Jonathan Pollard was indicted was one count of passing classified information to an ally. This is a lesser charge of the American espionage statutes. It carries a median sentence of 2 to 4 years. Today the maximum sentence has been capped at 10 years. Jonathan Pollard is entering his 14th year of a LIFE SENTENCE, with no end in sight.
JONATHAN POLLARD NEVER HAD A TRIAL.
He entered into a plea agreement with the US government in which he gave up his right to a trial. At sentencing, the Government completely violated the plea agreement and gave Jonathan a LIFE SENTENCE without possibility of parole. Who plea bargains for a life sentence?
JONATHAN POLLARD WAS ACCUSED IN KAFKA-ESQUE SECRECY.
Neither Pollard nor his attorneys have ever been allowed to see a classified memorandum to the sentencing judge in which former secretary of defense Caspar Weinberger levels secret charges against him. Nothing in the indictment against him supports the grossly disproportionate sentence that he received.
(NOTE: IN CANADA, SUCH INTERFERENCE IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS BY THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A MISTRIAL, AND THE POLLARD CASE WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED!)
LIFE SENTENCE FOR FRIENDLY ESPIONAGE: UNPRECEDENTED.
No one in the history of the United States has ever received a life sentence for spying for an ally. Only Jonathan Pollard. The median sentence is 2 to 4 years. Some recent cases of similar spying, (for example, Schwartz and Lee) received no prison time whatsoever!
Appellate Court Justice Stephen Williams termed the Pollard case “a complete and gross miscarriage of Justice.”
JONATHAN POLLARD EXPOSED ARAB PLANS TO ANNIHILATE ISRAEL.
The information Jonathan Pollard passed to Israel concerned CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS OF WAR being massed by neighboring Arab countries specifically for use against Israel. It also concerned detailed plans for upcoming terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Israel.
VITAL SECURITY INFORMATION ILLEGALLY WITHHELD BY U.S.
Anti-Israel elements within the US security and defense establishments illegally embargoed the flow of information to Israel. For example, the US, did NOT tell Israel about the Scud missiles and poison gas that Saddam Hussein was preparing for use against it.
JONATHAN POLLARD TRIED TO RELEASE INFO LEGALLY.
He appealed right up the chain of command all the way to the Under Secretary of Defense, but was rebuffed with spurious excuses such as “Jews get nervous when we talk about poison gas, so we won’t tell them that that is what Saddam is aiming at them.”
JONATHAN POLLARD ACTED OUT OF FEAR FOR ISRAELI LIVES.
When all of Jonathan Pollard’s efforts to legally release the information failed, he acted on his fear for the thousands, indeed millions of Israeli lives that were being jeopardized. He then approached the Israelis and volunteered to make the information available.
JONATHAN POLLARD PREPARED ISRAEL FOR THE GULF WAR.
The people of Israel call Jonathan Pollard “The Ghost of the Sealed Rooms”, because it was his information that allowed the Government of Israel to prepare for and plan for the GULF WAR. For the first time, the concept of gas masks and sealed rooms was introduced into Israeli civil defense.
FICTITIOUS VOLUME OF INFORMATION ALLEGED.
The volume of information that Jonathan Pollard is alleged to have passed to Israel is an absurdity - he would have needed to use a moving van on several occasions to have transferred the volume of documents being claimed by the CIA.!
The truth is, even if only one page or a single sentence of a document was passed to the Israelis, it was counted as if the whole document had been transmitted. Even referenced documents and sources were counted as having been transmitted in toto. Using this calculation, a single page could be counted as 50 hard bound 500 page volumes.
JONATHAN POLLARD HAS EXPRESSED HIS REMORSE.
Jonathan Pollard has repeatedly expressed his regrets for having broken the law. He is sorry he did not avail himself of legal means to act upon his concerns for Israel.
JONATHAN POLLARD HAS PAID A DISPROPORTIONAL PRICE.
He has now served 3 times as long in prison as any other person in the United States convicted of a similar offense: 14 years in prison (8 years in solitary confinement), under the harshest of conditions.
ISRAEL AND THE U.S.: CLOSE FRIENDS AND STRONG ALLIES?
Israel has apologized for the Pollard affair, and given the US strong assurances of no future repetition. Israel has granted Jonathan Pollard citizenship, and has pledged to be fully responsible for him. Four Prime Ministers of Israel, 3 Presidents of Israel, and all the ensuing Parliaments of Israel have repeatedly asked the United States to release him to Israel. Between close friends and strong allies that ought to be enough.
All of the above information and more is located on our website: http://www.jonathanpollard.org
The Globe and Mail has done a grave disservice not only to Jonathan Pollard, but to the fight for equal justice in America, and for equal treatment of Israel as an ally. Set the record straight. Print the facts. They speak for themselves.
Esther Pollard
(Mrs. Jonathan Pollard)
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/1998/102598.htm
If Pollard talks .... Oh boy. Heads and reputations might flow like those in the French revolution.
Just saying.
This was posted in WorldNetDaily right after the attack on the USA on 9/11/2001 ...
Terror in the U.S. and the Jonathan Pollard case
http://www.wnd.com/2001/09/11023/
Essentially, Jonathan Pollard warned Israel that Saddam Hussein was planning to scorch the Jewish State with weapons of mass destruction. What is perhaps most shocking of all, though, is the fact that this vital information was being purposely withheld from Israel by the U.S., Israel’s closest ally.
Nevertheless, thanks to Jonathan Pollard, Israel was ready with gas masks and sealed rooms when Iraq attacked her during the Gulf War.
In warning Israel, Jonathan broke the law. He deserved to be punished. But the punishment has to fit the crime. The usual sentence for spying for an ally is 2-4 years. Jonathan is about to complete his 16th year of a life sentence, with virtually no possibility of parole.
Jonathan Pollard did not spy against the United States. He was never indicted for intent to harm the United States, nor for treason, though he has been falsely accused of both. He received his life sentence without benefit of trial, as the result of a plea bargain which Jonathan honored and the U.S. violated.
Jonathan received a sentence far harsher than most of those who spied for an enemy nation. Twentieth-century spies Michael Walker, Clayton Lonetree and Richard Miller, who spied for the Soviet Union and did inestimable damage to American national security, are all free men today. Only Jonathan Pollard, a Jew who spied for the Jewish State, remains in prison with no end in sight.
Additionally, the case of Michael Schwartz highlights the disparity in sentencing between Jew and non-Jew and between Israel and other U.S. allies. Schwartz, a non-Jew who spied for Saudi Arabia, was arrested, confessed and indicted. But before he ever stood trial, a quick deal was worked out in order to appease America’s Saudi ally. His punishment? Loss of his Navy job, rank and pension. Whereas Jonathan Pollard got life for his activities on behalf of a U.S. ally, Schwartz did not get a single day in prison.
An article (“Crime and Punishment,” LA Jewish Journal – 04/03/98) by J.J. Goldberg, Editor of The Forward (N.Y.), cites high-level Washington sources indicating that the Joint Chiefs of Staff acted through Caspar Weinberger to secure a life sentence for Jonathan Pollard that has nothing to do with Jonathan’s guilt or innocence and everything to do with sending an intimidating message to Israel and to the American Jewish community: “High-ranking sources say that it was the Joint Chiefs of Staff who urged the judge, through then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, to ignore the plea agreement and throw the book at Pollard. … They wanted to send a message. … Pollard is still in jail, these sources say, not because his crime merits his lengthy sentence – it doesn’t – but because too many American Jews still haven’t gotten the message.”
Perhaps this explains why both the American justice system and the clemency process have been repeatedly subverted in the Pollard case and why, in spite of the patently false accusations against him, Jonathan Pollard remains in prison nearly 16 years later.
Right of Reply: Not treason, not dual loyalty, but equal justice is the issue
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Right-of-Reply-Not-treason-not-dual-loyalty-but-equal-justice-is-the-issue
Jonathan Pollard is the only person in US history to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally.
My husband, Jonathan Pollard, was never accused, indicted or convicted of treason in a court of law. However, Jonathan has been repeatedly defamed in the media, falsely accused of treason and wrongly branded a “traitor” by those who, incredibly, claim to have no hostile agenda. A recent case in point: “The Pollard Affair: Was it dual loyalty?” by Eli Kavon (Jerusalem Post, February 12).
Kavon’s grandiose declarations of American patriotism are no excuse for dismissing an issue that strikes at the very heart of the American system of justice: equality before the law for all Americans. His patriotic breast-beating notwithstanding, there can be no excuse for distorting facts, changing history and ignorance of American law.
The US Constitution, Article 3, Section 3 defines the crime of treason as follows: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” By repeatedly describing Jonathan as if he were a “traitor, his crime “treason” and his actions as “treasonous,” Kavon is not only defaming Jonathan, he is implying that Israel is an enemy nation at war with the US, which is absurd.
Even a cursory glance at the facts which Kavon ignores, reveals a case which Appellate Court Justice Steven Williams described as “a fundamental miscarriage of justice.” Jonathan is currently serving his 24th year of a life sentence for an offense that has a median sentence of two to four years.
JONATHAN NEVER had a trial. He received his life sentence as the result of a plea agreement which he honored and the US Government violated.
Jonathan was indicted on one charge only: one count of passing classified information to an ally without intent to harm the United States. There were no additional charges against him. Jonathan is the only person in the history of the US to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally.
The information Jonathan passed to Israel included Syrian, Iraqi, Libyan and Iranian nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare capabilities - all being developed for use against Israel. It also included information on ballistic missile development by these countries and information on planned terrorist attacks against Israeli civilian targets. When he resigned in 1994, former NSA Director Bobby Ray Inman publicly admitted that this critical information had been deliberately, illegally withheld from Israel, in retaliation for Israel’s 1981 strike on Iraq’s nuclear reactor.
Nevertheless and notwithstanding, Jonathan broke the law and he acknowledges his guilt. On numerous occasions he has expressed remorse for his actions, regretting that he did not find a legal means to act upon his concerns for Israel. Jonathan has long since paid his dues for the one count of disclosing classified information to Israel with intent that it be used to Israel’s benefit, with which he was charged.
RATHER THAN address the facts of the case and the troubling questions it raises for American Jews, Kavon pontificates about “dual loyalty” versus “divided loyalty”. He “psychoanalyzes” Jonathan, speculates on his mind-set more than two decades ago, and comes to the conclusion that while it is “disappointing” that outgoing President Bush did not pardon Jonathan, it was the victim’s own fault.
When Kavon refers to George Washington’s historic declaration to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island as proof of America’s inherent fairness towards all, and refers to Jonathan’s actions as making him unworthy of this great gift, he is missing the point. It is precisely when an offense has been committed that this protection is so vital.
In point of fact, President Washington’s promise to American Jewry, after his visit to the Touro Synagogue in 1794, was the guarantee of full equality before the law. Equal justice for all. Similar sentences for similar offenses.
It is not dual loyalty that is at the heart of the Pollard case. It is equal justice.
KAVON POINTS TO THE DREYFUS case as if to suggest that the two cases - Pollard and Dreyfus - could not be more dissimilar. This is false.
Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish officer in the French army who was falsely convicted of treason in 1894 and spent five years on Devil’s Island for a crime he did not commit. He was later exonerated.
Like Dreyfus, Jonathan is a Jew serving time for crimes he did not commit. Although he was never formally indicted, Jonathan was secretly blamed [by the prosecution and by the American intelligence community] for all the unsolved espionage crimes up to the time of his arrest. In the nearly quarter of a century that Jonathan has been in prison, the real perpetrators - Hansen, Boone, Pelton and Ames among them - have been caught and sentenced. Nevertheless, Jonathan continues to languish in jail. After 24 years in the harshest of prison conditions, Jonathan is desperately ill and his health is rapidly deteriorating.
It is unjust that Jonathan has been punished much more severely than all others who committed similar offenses on behalf of other US allies. It raises concern about why a Jew who spies for Israel is treated far more harshly than those who have spied for other allies, or even enemies, of the US.
The five years that Dreyfus spent on Devil’s Island will forever be a blot on the honor of France’s Third Republic. History will judge with equal disfavor, not only those directly involved in the imposition and preservation of Jonathan’s life sentence, but all who have failed for more than two decades, to speak out against such a shameful and inexcusable abuse of fundamental American justice.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey and former head of the Senate Intelligence Committee US Senator (ret.) Dennis DeConcini, as well as a cross section of other notable Americans, and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations are calling for Jonathan’s release. Enough is enough, they say.
Even former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, the man who drove Jonathan’s life sentence, admitted in an interview before he died, that the Pollard case was a “minor matter” which had been “made much more important than it was” in order to serve another agenda.
When President George Bush left office on January 20, 2009, he did not reject Jonathan’s petition for clemency. He handed the Pollard petition on to President Barak Obama, a man who has expressed strong determination to restore honor and fairness to the American system of justice.
Commuting Jonathan Pollard’s life sentence to the 24 years he has already served would be a good and honorable start.
Bio Note: Jonathan Pollard is an American-born Israeli citizen who worked for Israel’s Ministry of Defense. He is currently in his 25th year of captivity in an American prison for his activities on behalf of the security of the State of Israel. Esther Pollard is his wife.
If true, huge mistake.
Let him rot.
[Within a few days, in June 1984, Pollard started passing classified information to Sella (Israeli handler) and received, in exchange, $10,000 cash and a very expensive diamond and sapphire ring, which Pollard later used to propose marriage to his girlfriend Anne. He also agreed to receive $1,500 per month for further espionage.]
If I was the Prime Minister of Israel, I would openly announce that I was going to build the most destructive array of tactical nuclear weapons in the history of the world.
Then, I’d announce that if anyone even farted in Israel’s direction, I would start shooting them off.
As a foreign policy, it works great for Iran and North Korea.
So, why not Israel?