Thursday, 12 April 2012
Those with inside information say Israel's sin in running Pollard pales in
comparison to the many sins of the United States in the field of spying on
Israel.
Let Pollard go!
Those with inside information say Israel's sin in running Pollard pales in
comparison to the many sins of the United States in the field of spying on
Israel.
By Israel Harel
Haaretz Published 01:43 12.04.12
A sense of purpose is being felt lately in the struggle for the release of
convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. But it has registered no success, as the
White House statement at the beginning of the week showed, in melting the
heart of President Barack Obama. And the Israeli concern, which came late
and is also only that of a minority in the nation, serves as a mirror of the
failures in the way we treat those who have taken steps on behalf of our
security, whether as individuals or groups (for example, the South Lebanese
Army ).
The Pollard affair began with the revelation of a weakness in spirit - the
running of an Israeli spy in the United States. It was followed by panic,
confusion, lack of wisdom and flight from responsibility by those in charge,
such as Ariel Sharon, who was defense minister when Pollard was first used
as a spy. But there was also apathy on the part of the Israeli public - and
the impossible conflict which American Jews found themselves in until
recently - which were detrimental to Israel's response. And since there was
no suitable defense for the defendant, all the revenge, wickedness, hatred
and settling of accounts were concentrated on one poor victim.
Contrary to all the spin we have been treated to until now, including that
of the Israeli media, Pollard was merely a junior intelligence officer in
the U.S. Navy. He did not spy for his country's enemies and most of the
intelligence material he transferred to Israel related to its enemies, among
them also the enemies of the United States.
During and after the time Pollard worked for Israel, other spies were caught
in the United States working on behalf of China, the Soviet Union and
Communist countries in Eastern Europe. Some of them also exposed American
agents who were executed in the countries where they were posted. No
memorandum was presented to the judge against any of these traitors by any
American secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger did in the case of Jonathan
Pollard, calling for a particularly stiff sentence. And unlike Pollard, none
of those spies were held in solitary confinement for seven years. Years
later, when asked why he did not mention the Pollard affair in his memoirs,
Weinberger said it was a marginal case that was blown out of all proportion.
Dozens of spies were exposed in the United States and charged with spying
for "friendly countries" including Britain and South Korea, allies of the
first order. These spies were imprisoned for short terms, between five and
ten years. In recent years, the American Jewish establishment has shed some
of its understandable inhibitions and begun taking decisive action on
Pollard's behalf.
Heads of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
have visited him in jail and published calls for his release. Even leaders
of the Reform movement have added their names to many petitions on Pollard's
behalf. Hundreds of respected Americans have signed a letter to Obama
strongly urging him to pardon Pollard; they include former CIA Director
James Woolsey and others from the U.S. security/intelligence establishment,
former secretaries of state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Vice
President Dan Quayle and scores of senators and Congress members.
All this activity has caused a certain amount of interest, though not
enough, by the Israeli media, which was usually apathetic about Pollard, and
part of which was hostile to his cause. (The reasons are worth a serious
investigation ). No member of the Israeli intelligence community has been
seen on the Israeli Committee for Pollard, while some of them, such as
former Shin Bet security service head Yaakov Perry, have actively tried to
obtain the release of the (pro-Soviet ) traitor and arch-spy Marcus
Klingberg. For Pollard, they have not even signed a petition.
For many years, even when the Jews of America had already lost their
inhibitions, official Israel acted in secret, as if it was merely a lobby,
and without pride. Especially because this is a U.S. presidential election
year, the time has come for a resolute call on Obama: Let Pollard go! Those
with inside information say Israel's sin in running Pollard pales in
comparison to the many sins of the United States in the field of spying on
Israel.
-----------------------------
If Obama tries to go ahead with Peres’s ceremony while concomitantly keeping
Pollard behind bars, he would be seen as giving the lie to his own declared
motives for honoring Peres. If Peres is honored while Pollard keeps
languishing, his image too would suffer a blow which Obama certainly does
not intend to deliver.
Let Pollard go!
By JPOST EDITORIAL 04/11/2012 22:02
On June 13, US President Barack Obama, campaigning for reelection, plans to
honor President Shimon Peres by bestowing upon him the prestigious
Presidential Medal of Freedom. Whatever Obama’s motives, this could
constitute a source of pride for much-maligned Israel.
But it could turn into a hollow gesture should Peres be feted while Jonathan
Pollard is still denied freedom. Obama holds the key to Pollard’s cell. It
behooves Peres to persuade Obama to use it. Peres, thus far, has been true
to his promise and did formally ask for Pollard’s release.
Pollard is in his 27th year of imprisonment for passing American
intelligence (about inimical third countries – Iraq, Libya, the then-PLO
headquarters in Tunis) to a friendly country (Israel). He should have been
freed long ago and not only because his health is now failing.
His continued incarceration is plainly unjust. His sentence to begin with
was ultra-harsh. Lighter punishment was meted to assorted US spies for
greater offenses, including those involving tangible security risks to
America.
Although Pollard’s life-term is unprecedented for transferring classified
material to an ally, no US administration in nearly three decades
countenanced pardoning him. This, despite the fact that in 1991 Pollard
publicly apologized and expressed further remorse in a 1996 open letter to
then-president Bill Clinton. In 1998, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
admitted that Pollard spied for Israel and sought to free him as part of the
Wye River deal. Clinton reneged on the agreement.
As things stand, it appears that the current administration is toying with
the emotions of the entire Israeli collective. It issued an ambiguous
statement which news agencies impetuously misrepresented as a rejection of
Peres’s request. Peres held his own and released a communiqué saying he has
not received Obama’s response and still awaits it.
At this point for Obama to rebuff Peres would represent a massive slap in
the face. Obama didn’t refuse him – not officially or personally. The ball
is still in play.
And it is quite a unique play. The medal, which was to have been a symbolic
pat on Israel’s back with multiple political perks for both sides, has been
turned into a catalyst for reinforcing another dynamic – the clamor for
Pollard’s long overdue liberation.
Because of the medal, two presidents are now forced into an apparent
stand-off. Pollard, though physically in his North Carolina maximum security
prison, has somehow come between Obama and Peres like the veritable pink
elephant in the room – a huge moral predicament that everyone is acutely
aware of, but would have preferred to avoid.
If Obama tries to go ahead with Peres’s ceremony while concomitantly keeping
Pollard behind bars, he would be seen as giving the lie to his own declared
motives for honoring Peres. If Peres is honored while Pollard keeps
languishing, his image too would suffer a blow which Obama certainly does
not intend to deliver.
What may have started as a public relations stunt that could have afforded
beleaguered Israel rare contentment, might be exposed as another instance of
disingenuous posturing on the American side and outright humiliation for the
Israeli.
But this is not preordained. Should Pollard be freed pre-ceremony, all
Israelis would sincerely share in the joy of Peres’s honor. For this, Obama
needs recall that he presents himself as the voice of American conscience.
It is time that he perform what is incontrovertibly an act of conscience.
Moreover, for Obama it is risk-free, rife with potential reward and wholly
without political detriment. Nobody can credibly persevere in the sham that
Pollard threatens American national security interests. Indeed the pendulum
has swung hard and many former higher-ups (like ex-secretaries of state
Henry Kissinger and George Schultz) now support Pollard’s release.
We cannot escape the impression that the only reason Pollard is still denied
his freedom is because he is Jewish and hence his disproportionate
punishment.
It is certainly high time the torment of the aging Pollard be discontinued.
He has more than paid for what he did. Holding him captive as he grows older
and infirm serves no purpose and can be judged as nothing but vindictive and
sadistic.
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