The Circle of Betrayal is Complete
By Esther Pollard - ISRAELINSIDER- January 17, 2006
http://web.israelinsider.com/views/7560.htm

The betrayal of my husband, Jonathan Pollard, by the Government of Israel,
by the Ministry of Defense, and by the Knesset has now been officially
rubber-stamped by the High Court of Justice.

Jonathan and I are deeply disappointed by the decision rendered by the High
Court of Justice of Israel denying Jonathan's petition to officially
recognize him as a Prisoner of Zion.

History will not need to judge whether or not Jonathan Pollard is a Prisoner
of Zion; but it will certainly judge how the High Court of Justice treated
him. It is clear to every single Israeli with a heart and a sense of
justice, that Jonathan has served the State of Israel for 21 years; that he
is a Prisoner of Zion; and that he certainly deserved better than this from
the country he served. Even the Prisoners of Zion themselves, through their
official Organization, have recognized Jonathan and officially count him as
one of their own.

Jonathan and I are dismayed by the court's written decision that
memorializes deeply damaging Government lies, without a shred of evidence!
The written decision falsely claims that the Government of Israel is
financially supporting Jonathan and me financially, paying for his
attorneys, and generally taking care of us. This is a complete and utter
falsehood! In official documents that we hold, the Government has repeatedly
admitted that we are not receiving, nor they have we ever received, any
financial support from the Government of Israel. We live in abject penury,
dependent on the kindness of a few friends to survive. None of my husband's
attorneys, in the US or in Israel, has been paid for work on his behalf.

Jonathan and I deplore the court's suggestion that the government invent a
"symbolic status" for Jonathan. In its written decision, the Court
facetiously suggested that the Government come up with some new "symbolic
status" for Jonathan Pollard, one that would not oblige it in any way. The
Court ought to have reminded the Government that Jonathan is officially
recognized as an Israeli Agent and that it is high time that the Government
of Israel discharge its obligations to him as such; and not help the
Government invent new ways to duck its responsibility to him.

We are shocked by the sophistry the court used to deny Jonathan's petition.
The Court's written decision claims that Jonathan, an official Israeli
agent, who spied for Israel cannot be granted Prisoner of Zion Status
because he was not arrested as a Jew; and because espionage is a felony, not
a Zionist activity. It further states that only one who is arrested as a Jew
for an activity which encourages Aliyah, but which is considered illegal in
the country of arrest, can be considered a Prisoner of Zion. This flies in
the face of historical precedent and fact.

Israel's best known Prisoner of Zion, former cabinet minister Natan
Sharansky is a convicted spy and felon. Sharanksy was arrested, indicted,
convicted and incarcerated in the Soviet Union on charges of spying for the
US. Yet he is recognized by the State of Israel as a Prisoner of Zion.

So too MK Yuli Edelstein and Rabbi Yosef Mendelevitch. Both Edelstein and
Mendelevitch are felons convicted of serious crimes in the USSR.
Mendelevitch was convicted of conspiracy to hijack an aircraft and fly it to
Israel! Yet these "convicted felons" are recognized by the State of Israel
as Prisoners of Zion.

Just like Jonathan Pollard, neither Sharanksy nor Edelstein nor Mendelevitch
was arrested as a Jew. They were arrested for the crimes they were indicted
for in the Soviet Union -- crimes that had absolutely nothing to do with
encouraging Aliyah!

The Court essentially dismissed the sacrifice of such great heroes of
Zionism as Eli Cohen, Chana Senesh and Sarah Abramson, in virtually ruling
that espionage on behalf of the State of Israel -- for its protection,
defense and its very existence - is criminal, not Zionist. A great
disservice was done to Israel's intelligence community and to its
recruitment services by this judgment.

The Court simply turned a blind eye to Jonathan's documented claims of harsh
treatment and abuse and to the anti-Semitic nature of his life sentence. It
demonstrated a complete unwillingness to extend the same consideration to
him that the Government of Israel routinely extends to murderers and
terrorists -- which it is now poised to extend to multiple murderers Marwan
Barghouti and Samir Kuntar -- treating them as Prisoners of War, in order to
free them.

But the High Court of Israel could not find it in its heart to grant
Jonathan Pollard the status of Prisoner of Zion, to which he is fully
entitled, not even to save the life of an Israeli agent. Justice has not
been served. -30-