BASHING POLLARD DOES NOT COMPORT WITH THE FACTS
By Nissan GanOr * November 21, 2006
[Publication marks the 21st anniversary of Jonathan Pollard's incarceration
21 November 2006.May be reprinted with credit to IMRA]
On November 21, 2006 Jonathan Pollard will enter his 22nd year of a life
sentence for providing classified information to Israel relating to vital
threats to the Jewish State's existence.
Ever since Jonathan Pollard was able to obtain the unclassified titles of
the documents that were used as evidence against him, and these titles were
published in a petition to Israel's Supreme Court*, there can be no doubt
that the information Pollard passed to Israel concerned 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. The United States was
deliberately withholding this vital information, despite a legal commitment
to share this data with her ally, Israel.
Even a glimpse at the record shows that Pollard who spied for Israel, an
ally of the United States, was sentenced far more severely than the most
notorious spies for enemy states --- all of whom are FREE today! Just a few
examples include:
MICHAEL WALKER, part of the infamous WALKER SPY RING, was arrested in 1985,
the same year as Jonathan Pollard. The spy ring he belonged to operated for
17 years, selling sensitive US military secrets to the Soviet Union, causing
what authorities described as extensive damage to national security. He was
sentenced to 25 years. WALKER IS A FREE MAN TODAY.
CLAYTON LONETREE, a marine sergeant guarding the US Embassy in Moscow, spied
for the KGB and was sentenced in 1987 to 30 years. He gave the Russians the
floor plans of the US Embassies in Moscow and Vienna, endangering the lives
of all who worked there. His sentence was reduced 3 times. LONETREE IS A
FREE MAN TODAY.
RICHARD MILLER is the first FBI agent ever tried for espionage. He turned
over secrets, including a counter-intelligence manual, to the Soviets. He
was sentenced to 20 years. MILLER IS A FREE MAN TODAY.
ABDELKADER HELMY, a missile researcher, was sentenced in 1989 for selling
technology related to the Condor Missile project to Egypt which found its
way to Iraq. He got 48 months and served considerably less. HELMY IS A FREE
MAN TODAY.
SAMUEL MORISON, a Navy analyst, removed scores of confidential material,
including photos he sold that were printed in Jane's Defense Weekly. The
Photos were classified SCI; exposing such sensitive material carries a
mandatory life sentence. The grandson of an illustrious Navy Historian, his
family ties are the only way to explain why in 1985 he was sentenced to only
2 years, and served only 3 months. What is more, in spite of extreme
opposition by the CIA to clemency, Morison received a full pardon from
former President Clinton in January 2001. MORISON IS A FREE MAN TODAY.
RONALD MONTAPERTO For over a decade, Ronald Montaperto, a former pentagon
analyst gave highly classified information to the Chinese which seriously
damaged US National Security by hampering US efforts to track China's
covert arms sales to nation sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, Syria and
Pakistan. Montaperto was recently sentenced to 3 months in prison!
Montaperto's.miniscule sentence is nearly completed and by the time you read
this you can be sure that MONTAPERTO IS A FREE MAN TODAY.
Unlike the above-mentioned, Jonathan Pollard was never accused, indicted or
convicted of treason. Nor was he ever accused of damage to the United States
in a formal indictment -- only in the media, where he could not respond to
his accusers. The only offense Pollard was ever indicted for was one count
of passing classified information to an ally.
The sentencing judge recognized Pollard as an ideologue, not a mercenary,
and declined to fine him. In 1998, ending years of lies and denial, the
Israeli Government admitted that Jonathan Pollard was an Israeli agent, and
granted him formal recognition. By definition, an agent works out of
commitment to a country, not for profit or gain. Once he was recognized as a
bona fide Israeli agent any speculation about Pollard's motive was put to
the lie.
Pollard never had a trial. He was coerced into a plea agreement, which he
honored and the US abrogated. In spite of the fact that he pled guilty and
cooperated fully with the prosecution, at the last minute the sentencing
judge ignored the plea deal and sentenced Pollard to life. His attorney,
paid by the Government of Israel, neglected to file a notice of intent to
appeal and thereby deprived Jonathan forever of the right to appeal his life
sentence.
No one in the history of the US has ever gotten a life sentence for spying
for an ally - only Jonathan Pollard. This is a sentence reserved for those
who spy for enemies of the US. But as the examples above demonstrate, by and
large even those who have spied for enemies of the US have received far
lighter sentences than Pollard.
There has been no vitriol poured out on these spies, nor has there been any
stigmatization of the countries they served. Quite the opposite. Every
consideration was extended to spare the offending spies and their sponsor
nations any undue embarrassment. When each of these traitors was released,
there was little media coverage and not a peep of protest from any
government official or news commentator.
Not so in the case of Jonathan Pollard. Twenty-two years into a life
sentence, Jonathan Pollard continues to be publicly pilloried and excoriated
at every possible opportunity by the American intelligence community and
their willing henchmen in the media. Why is the vitriol poured out on the
Jewish spy so intense and ceaseless? What possible reason can there be to
continue to heap new, unsubstantiated charges on Israel's spy?
There is an old adage that says when you blacken a spy, you blacken the
country he serves. It is obvious that the invective and false charges
against Pollard have more to do with Israel, the country he served, than
with Pollard himself.
What is more, the hatred directed against Pollard personally is simply too
big to be credible. The latest charges against Pollard - that he spied for
up to 10 countries, was an arms dealer, and a drug user, and a hundred and
one other things are absurd! Even superman could not have served so many
countries, pulled off dazzling weapons deals, and done it all when he was
stoned, and mentally incapacitated. How gullible does the US intelligence
community think the public is? How foolish is the media that repeats these
lies without question!
More to the point, if any of these accusations were true, why was Pollard
never formally accused, indicted and tried for these crimes? No one even
asks.
And that is the point. The US intelligence community has neither fear nor
limits in bashing Jonathan Pollard endlessly and beyond any credulity
because there is not a single voice in Israeli officialdom, in the American
Jewish leadership, or in the media protesting the savaging of Jonathan
Pollard. On the contrary, even the Israeli media has joined the fray,
heaping invective upon Pollard and rewriting history to make him some sort
of super-spy boogey man in the minds of the public.
Where is the Prime Minister of Israel, who claims to care so much about
Jonathan Pollard and to be seeking his release? Why is there no statement
from Olmert's office defending Israel's longest-held captive and expressing
unequivocal support?
Where are the Members of Knesset who routinely exploit Jonathan's name to
get elected or to gain publicity? Where are they now that Jonathan is being
raked over the coals publicly?
Where are the voices of Eli Wiesel, Abe Foxman, Charles Krauthammer, Cal
Thomas, Mort Zukerman, Jeff Jacoby, Shimon Shifer, Ben Caspit, Uri Avineri,
Bibi Netanyahu, Yair Lapid, Caroline Glick, Avigdor Lieberman, Morton Klein,
Naomi Ragen, Yossi Klein Halevy, Amir Peretz, Tzipi Livni, Natan Sharansky,
Ronald Lauder, Charles Bronfman, and Zev Bielski, just to name a few.
Where are the American Jewish leaders? Too busy congratulating themselves at
the General Assembly in Los Angeles to even notice? Or still ducking for
fear of becoming another casualty of the war-in-the-shadows against Israel,
like AIPAC?
Bottom line: where are you? Jewish silence does not behoove us in the face
of such outright anti-Semitic targeting of one of our members. It is
incumbent upon all honest persons of every faith to stand up and be counted
now. Your prayers are not enough. Your voice is needed in calling our
leaders both here in Israel and the US, to take them to task and force them
to take responsibility. Three months in prison is enough for China's spy,
but 21 years in prison is not enough for Israel's spy?!
The feeding frenzy that now engulfs the case of Jonathan Pollard must be
stopped. Pollard must go free. Israel's honor as a nation and our integrity
as individuals depends upon it.
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* Nissan GanOr is the head of the Jerusalem based COMMITTEE TO BRING
JONATHAN POLLARD HOME. www.FreePollard.org
*Via a Freedom of Information Act request, Jonathan Pollard obtained the
unclassified titles of the documents which were used as evidence against
him. These titles were published in a petition to the Supreme Court of
Israel, a copy of which can be viewed online at
www.jonathanpollard.org/petition.htm . Click on Legal Doc [Hebrew]: Jonathan
Pollard's Eban Commission Report Petition to Israeli Supreme Court
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