Freedom for Bargouti and Abandonment for Pollard?

by Adi Ginzburg - Maariv NRG - Voice of The Nation Column - February 18,
2005

Translation by Justice for JP

"By the end of this year, I'll be out," Marwan Bargouti, the man responsible
for murdering and injuring huge numbers of Jews, is quoted in the title of a
recent interview with Maariv which took place in his Israeli jail cell. Is
he being a little too optimistic? Most of the Israeli public does not think
so. Bargouti knows exactly what he is talking about.

How is it that Bargouti can be so convinced that his freedom is close at
hand? Does he have new evidence that will shed a different light on his
crimes? Is he going to file an appeal to prove that the punishment he
received is too severe and that instead of five life sentences, he should
get 4 years and be out in 3? Of course not. Bargouti simply knows that for
his Palestinian comrades on the outside, securing his release is at the top
of their agenda.

When one considers the ability of a Palestinian mass murderer to be so sure
of his early release (about a hundred years early, according to his
sentence) it is impossible not to ask ourselves, where do we stand, and
where do they stand in this respect? Can an Israeli who protects the
security of the state of Israel be as sure as a Palestinian murderer, that
he will not ultimately be abandoned and left in the field?

Jonathan Pollard, the man who worked as an Israeli agent, under the auspices
of the State of Israel and for its security is not so sure that his release
will occur any time soon. Moreover, after languishing nearly 20 years in an
American prison, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. On the face of
it, one would think that Pollard's release ought to be a lot closer than
Bargouti's. There are many reasons for this, but I shall cite just a couple.

One of the driving forces behind the unprecedented and grossly
disproportionate sentence that Pollard received was the former Secretary of
Defense, Caspar Weinberger. But today, even Weinberger admits that Pollard's
sentence was disproportionate; that it did not reflect the offense he
committed. When asked during a recent interview why he omitted to mention
the Pollard case in a new autobiography he had written, Weinberger responded
that the Pollard case was a relatively small matter which had been blown up
out of all proportion to what it was in truth.* The question becomes more
pointed and urgent; if even Weinberger admits this, then why is Pollard
still in prison?

A Small Gesture for Us

In order to find the answer to this question, let's go back to Bargouti's
cell (as it was described in his interview with Maariv). On his bed is a
copy of "The Missing Peace" a new book by Dennis Ross, the former American
Special Envoy to the Middle East. He writes that when President Clinton
asked him (at the 1998 Wye Summit) if freeing Pollard would be regarded as
important by Israel, Ross responded affirmatively, "Since Pollard is seen as
an Israeli solider, and in Israel there is an ethos that you do not abandon
a soldier in the field." Ross even admits that he himself thought that
Pollard's sentence was unjust, that it was disproportionate when compared to
others who had committed similar offenses. Nevertheless, Ross continues,
that when he is asked by President Clinton if Pollard should be released in
the framework of the Wye Accords, he answers that Pollard should not go free
at this time; and he explains that Pollard is too valuable a bargaining chip
with Israel to release him. We don't have a lot of others like this in our
pocket, he says, and we are going to need it later on.

Indeed, Ross is not even ashamed to admit that he advised the President not
to free Pollard, even though he believed that Pollard's sentence was unjust.
It is all about national self-interest and bargaining chips. Perhaps this
will come as a surprise to some of us, but this is the general rule (or
should we say that this is what is so 'special} about our special
relationship, our "great friendship" with the United States.

If the problem were merely that the for the Americans national self-interest
supercedes moral values and simple justice, then no doubt a resolution to
the Pollard affair would have been found long ago. After all, the Americans
have an endless number of interests which they demand that Israel fulfill,
and Israel responds without thinking twice about it. A serious request to
the Americans to free Jonathan Pollard, at the very least, as a gesture to
Israel (especially at this delicate time when Israel is taking so many
risks, and in light of the fact that he has spent 20 years in prison) could
certainly bring about the desired result.

Unfortunately, to our great sorrow, the American injustice regarding the
release of Pollard is exacerbated by the indifference of Israel. Ariel
Sharon, the man who is closely identified with the saying " we do not
abandon a soldier in the field"; is the same Sharon who 15 years ago blasted
then-PM Yitzhak Shamir for doing nothing to secure the release of Pollard.
When Shamir responded that "One has to know how to abandon a man for the
sake of the goal," Sharon denounced Shamir as cruel and heartless. That same
Sharon refuses to lift a finger for Pollard.

Sharon has repeatedly avoided bringing the issue of Pollard up with the
President of the United States. He will not even permit the Israeli
ambassador to visit Pollard in prison (even though he promised to, and he
has since repeated this promise in the media.) Even now that Sharon has
agreed to release thousands of terrorist in response to the American demand
that we make 'painful concessions' and 'confidence building measures' he
refuses to ask the Americans to make this small gesture for us.

So what can be done? Probably the best that we, the People of Israel, can
do is to demonstrate and cry out in the hope that expressing the public
will, may cause Pollard's release to become a priority on the Prime
Ministers political agenda - and to pray for better days ahead.

See Also:
Excerpts from "The Missing Peace" By Dennis Ross
Jonathan Pollard On Securing His Release in Exchange for Terrorists
http://www.jonathanpollard.org
HaRav Aviner on Freeing Pollard for Murderers
http://www.jonathanpollard.org
Text: Jonathan Pollard's 20th Anniversary Speech
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2004/112104.htm
Radio Kol Chai: Chief Rabbis' Appeal for Pollard
Chief Rabbi Metzger: Condition Release of Terrorists on Release of Pollard