Op Ed: The Continuing Pollard Campaign
Hamodia - January 28, 2009 - May be Reprinted

BY SHLOMO Z. MOSTOFSKY, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL

Everyone knows the story where Moshiach finally arrives. He goes
from shul to shul telling the Jews that it's time to go home, to Eretz
Yisrael, that the Galus is over. Wherever Moshiach goes he is rejected
because of his dress, his yarmulka, his hat or his accent. Eventually, in
frustration, he simply leaves.

Disunity has been a problem for the Jewish nation going back to at
least the times of Moshe Rabbeniu. Even during periods of great tzoros,
problems and challenges, people have reacted differently. Rarely have we
spoken as one.

Over the last year though, there has been an incredible phenomenon.
Jews of all stripes have joined together to pray, to write letters, sign
petitions and call the White House in support of clemency for Jonathan
Pollard. Wherever I went, knowing that the National Council of Young Israel
has been at the forefront of the efforts to obtain Jonathan's release,
people asked me for updates and told me what they were doing to help the
effort. I entered a taxi in Israel and there was a "Free Jonathan Pollard"
bumper sticker on the arm rest. People of all ages joined the effort.
Chassidim, misnagdim, yeshivish, modern-Orthodox, regular Orthodox,
ultra-Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, unaffiliated ? every type of Jew
joined together. It is rare that we have been able to look at ourselves in
the mirror and actually view Goy Echad B'Aretz, a united nation.

There have been many heroes in this effort. First and foremost is
perhaps, Jonathan. Yes, he committed a crime, he has admitted his guilt, he
has expressed remorse, but he has served his time, he has been punished
sufficiently. But to be able to endure 24 years in federal prisons, many
years in solitary confinement, and remain optimistic and forward looking, is
nothing less than heroic. The fact that he is a man of such strong faith,
that to the best of his ability he is shomer Shabbos, maintains a kosher
diet, has remained a man of integrity, that too is heroic. Of course,
Jonathan's wife, Esther Pollard, devotes her entire being on behalf of her
husband. Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National
Council of Young Israel has dedicated thousands, if not tens of thousands,
of hours to this cause, on a professional and personal level. Jonathan's
attorneys, Elliot Lauer, Esq. and Jacques Semmelman, Esq. gave pro bono,
their all, on behalf of Mr. Pollard. To them, also, the cause has become
personal. HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel,
may he have a refuah shlaima, has adopted the Pollards as his own children,
is their Rabbinic mentor and is always available for the Pollard cause.

The current and past Chief Rabbis of the State of Israel, as well as
Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elayashuv, and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, Chasidic
Rebbes, members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America, and hundreds, if
not thousands, of Rabbinic and lay leaders gave their unqualified support.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
supported his release. Almost every Jewish organization, from right to left,
has advocated for the release of Jonathan Pollard.

While I am sure to leave some people out, whether by accident or
because they worked behind the scenes and will continue to do so, there are
individuals who deserve special recognition. Natan Sharansky, one of our
great Jewish heroes, personally lobbied President George Bush and others on
Mr. Pollard's behalf. Mr. Sharansky knows what it is to be in jail and to
receive a disproportionate sentence. Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York
showed courage and integrity as he turned over every stone on behalf of Mr.
Pollard. When Mr. Pollard was finally given a hearing in Federal Court, a
few years back, it was astounding to hear attorneys describe how, each time
they sought a document from the government and were refused on grounds of
national security, Congressman Weiner managed to obtain the document; and
Congressman Weiner was in the courtroom, when not even one representative of
the Israeli government managed to come.

There were those who simply acted as true Americans and spoke out
against what they believed to be a travesty of justice, such as Hon. Stephen
Williams, the Federal appellate judge who dissented in the original
appellate case involving Mr. Pollard's sentence. He called the District
Court's rejection of Mr. Pollard's plea a "flagrant violation of the [plea]
agreement's spirit." There is former Federal district court judge, Hon.
George N. Leighton, who submitted a "Declaration," in support of Mr.
Pollard, to the appellate court in which he described the failures of the
justice and judicial system in the case and called for Mr. Pollard to
receive an "evidentiary hearing." It took great courage for former CIA
Director James Woolsey to openly support the release of Mr. Pollard on
humanitarian grounds and state clearly that Pollard did not pose a present
national security risk to the United States. And lastly, to all the tens of
thousands of Jews, men and women, adults and children, who called and wrote
the White House, often, and, of course, prayed.

There have been naysayers over the years who claimed that
Mr. Pollard received a just sentence because he was a spy. That is false.
Mr. Pollard, in a plea bargain supported by the Justice Department, pleaded
guilty to one count of "passing classified information to an ally, without
intent to harm the United States." Mr. Pollard is not the only person who
"spied" on behalf of a U.S. ally. Others have spied for China, South Africa,
Great Britain, the Philippines and South Korea. The longest sentence
received was 14 years meted out to Steven Lalas who disclosed the names of
CIA agents, placing them in jeopardy. The United States honored Mr. Lalas's
plea agreement despite the fact that he violated the agreement several
times. Most of those convicted of spying for enemies of the United States,
received sentences that were equal to the time already served by Pollard.
Marian Zacharski, a spy for Poland who received a life sentence, served only
four years. It is obvious that the reason Mr. Pollard is still in jail is
not because he was a "spy" or because he "endangered" the United States of
America.

Each time I meet Jonathan Pollard I come away with the
sense that despite all of the machinations to obtain his release he placed
his hopes solely in the hands of HaShem. He states that he believes there is
a purpose for his imprisonment and that when that purpose had been served,
he will be released. Perhaps that purpose is to bring unity to Klal Yisrael
and to indicate that, if we can come together in support of just one human
being, we can come together and breach many of the senseless issues that
seem to divide us.

When I realized this past week that Jonathan Pollard was
denied clemency, it was difficult to hold back the tears. For a second, I
thought all of our work was for naught. I realized, however, that for over
2,000 years, at the end of the Pesach Seder, and at the end of Yom Kippur,
Jews of all persuasions say "L'Shana Haba B'Yerushalayim." - "Next year in
Jerusalem." Although we are still waiting, we do not give up. The campaign
to free Jonathan Pollard will continue. Let us not lose our momentum and let
us not lose our unity.

--
JUSTICE FOR JONATHAN POLLARD
Website: http://www.JonathanPollard.org
RSS: http://www.JonathanPollard.org/rss.htm