IMRA - Sunday, June 20, 2010 [Pollard compares Jewish American efforts for Rubashkin and Grossman to those for Pollard] Hamodia Editorial: That None Be Forgotten

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

[Pollard compares Jewish American efforts for Rubashkin and Grossman to those for Pollard] Hamodia Editorial: That None Be Forgotten

Justice4JPnews - June 20, 2010

J4JP Prefacing Comment:

The editorial below which recently ran in Hamodia is a deeply principled
statement and a welcome change - albeit with one fatal flaw.

While we applaud the editorial's main thesis, it is both puzzling and
galling to repeatedly be assailed with the canard so prevalent in the
American Jewish Community, namely that there does not seem to be anything
practical which can be done to help Jonathan Pollard.

It is puzzling because it simply is not true; and it is galling in light of
the massive efforts and hyperbolic publicity that the American Jewish
Community Leaders, their organizations and related media arms have invested
in other recent cases. Never, in 25 years, has the American Jewish
leadership done anything remotely similar for Jonathan Pollard! What is
more, the others were certainly not "the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim for one
who was moser nefesh for Am Yisrael!"

The gross failure of the American Jewish leaders to advocate even minimally
for Pollard was exposed when President Obama recently sat down with 31
Jewish Congressmen to find out what he might do to improve relations with
Israel and the American Jewish Community. Imagine how simple it would have
been for the Jewish Congressmen (or even just one or two of them) to say:
"Mr. President, Jonathan Pollard's release would go a long way to reassuring
Jews world-wide of your fairness and your concern for Israel. Please sign
Pollard's commutation papers which are sitting on your desk and send him
home to Israel. "

But the Jewish Congressmen had never heard from their Jewish constituents
(aka the Jewish leaders) that Pollard is an issue to anyone, so they did not
bring up Pollard's name at all when they sat with the President.

Intensive lobbying should have been on-going for months ever since the
failed clemency bid when Bush left office, but it never started at all.
Since January 21, 2010, the American Jewish leadership (which did precious
little prior to the last clemency bid) has once again thrown Pollard under
the bus and moved on, disingenuously claiming that there is nothing that can
be done for Pollard. That has been their lame excuse for 25 years!

There is, in fact, plenty that can be done to help Pollard!

Just look at the intensive, endless, hyperbolic lobbying that the American
Jewish leadership (most notably led by the Agudah and Chabad) have been
doing for Shalom Rubashkin; or the hysterical campaign that was waged for
the late Martin Grossman! The grossly disproportionate efforts that were
made in these other cases put the lie to all the excuses! Don't tell us that
there is nothing that can be done for Pollard! Do exactly as much for
Pollard as is being done for Rubashkin and as was done for Grossman! In
Pollard's case, it would be 25 years late in coming, but better late than
continuing to recycle lame excuses ad infinitum!

Except for the repetition of the pernicious little white lie, that there
does not seem to be anything that can be done in a practical mode to help
Pollard, a recent Hamodia Editorial: "That None Be Forgotten" is a welcome
change in a world that has gone all but silent on Pollard. It is a
principled wake-up call to the Jewish People. It follows below.

*
* * * *

THAT NONE BE FORGOTTEN

Editorial - Hamodia - June 8, 2010

"What's new?"

That question - in one form or another - is repeated probably millions of
times a day in conversations around the globe. The overwhelming majority of
human conversations - at least those with some substance - revolve around a
new development of sorts.

News is of course the lifeblood of the media, with this publication being no
exception. The same is true for the rest of the publishing industry. From
historical features that appear in magazines to full-length books, all have
to contain something new and noteworthy, or they could not sell.

The invention of a vast array of technological gadgets has made the global
distribution of news a near-instantaneous affair and this, together with the
advent of all-news-all-the-time 24-hour news reporting, has dramatically
shortened the journey from front-page headline to the trash heap of history.

Even as certain stories continue to dominate much of the media's attention -
for a current example, the BP oil spill - the focus is always on a new
angle. Even the most relevant and important stories are, in the absence of a
fresh development, pushed to the side like stale bread.

But as Jews, we have to stop every so often to ask ourselves if this
approach to our conversations and mindset is the right one.
Certainly we all have the power within us to find new meaning, a new sense
of relevance, in something that is important - even if there are no new
developments.

One example is the plight of Jonathan Pollard. As the Bush presidency drew
to a close, there was a flurry of activity on his behalf. The White House
was besieged with letters and calls pleading for his pardon, stressing the
shocking injustice of his case. Countless tefillos were prayed on behalf of
Yehonoson ben Malkah, a precious Yid who has spent the past 8,965 days -
nearly 25 years - in prison because of his singular dedication to the safety
of his brethren in Eretz Yisrael.

When to the chagrin and great disappointment of the Jewish community Bush
left office without commuting the sentence, the Jewish media ran news
articles and analysis pieces about it, and the story was on the tongues of
people in shuls, in offices, and on street corners.

In the past seventeen months, with no breaking news, talk of Pollard's
plight has all but disappeared. As the team of devoted askanim led by Rabbi
Pesach Lerner continues to try to find new avenues of hishtadlus, the hearts
and thoughts of most of the community have become focused elsewhere.

In the meantime, Jonathan Pollard continues to languish in his dreary cell
in North Carolina, feeling alone and abandoned by all except his devoted
wife and closest supporters.

What is unique about Pollard's case is not only the unfathomable travesty of
his continued imprisonment, but the fact that at this point there doesn't
seem to be any practical avenue of hishtadlus.

The tragic ongoing saga of Gilad ben Aviva Shalit is another example of a
crucial story all too often ignored. In contrast to Pollard, who is being
unfairly imprisoned in a country that is essentially a medinah shel chessed,
Shalit is being held by ruthless Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Despite their
vaunted reputation, neither the IDF nor the various Israeli intelligence
agencies have been able to bring him home, and a series of intense
negotiations with Hamas over his release has so far yielded nothing more
than proof - in the form of a video - that he is still alive. As the world
dallies, Gilad remains in the hands of some of the most heinous murderers of
our era.

Numerous other cases come to mind, including the yeshivah bachurim who
remain imprisoned in Japan after they unwittingly became couriers for
another man's criminal enterprise. While their trials do receive
considerable attention, in the long gaps before and after they are all but
forgotten.

We at Hamodia have a particular challenge in this regard. As a media outlet,
our main mission is to be your primary source for news. At the same time, it
is our obligation to keep a spotlight on many of the crucial and important
issues of the day, ranging from community-wide challenges to the tragic
plight of individuals such as Gilad Shalit and Jonathan Pollard.

As maaminim bnei maaminim we know that the fate of all captives - like
everything else in the world - is solely in the Hands of the Ribbono shel
Olam. Only the Matir Assurim can free them, and regardless of the naysayers
and the pundits, He certainly has the ability to do so at anytime.

As Torah Jews there is no limit to the depth of our compassion. We certainly
have enough room in our hearts to care and daven for the many Jews in need
of yeshuos, among them Gilad ben Aviva and Yehonoson ben Malkah.

Starting with this issue, we plan be"H to publish calls for tefillos on
their behalf until that glorious day when we will be able to report their
release.

As we pour out our hearts to Hashem on behalf of all His imprisoned
children, we should also make an effort to let Jonathan Pollard know that he
has not been forgotten. Though he is not permitted to respond to letters, he
receives great chizuk from every piece of mail he gets.

The summer months are letter-writing season. Picking up our pens or plying
our keyboards to write to family and friends, let us also write to:

Jonathan Pollard #09185-016
c/o FCI Butner
P.O. Box 1000
Butner, NC
U.S.A 27509-1000
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