22 Responses to “Help Free Jonathan Pollard”

1. David Linn
   December 21st, 2008 @ 1:47 pm

   Over the past month, I have become involved with the campaign to get Jonathan Pollard pardoned. During that time, I have met people who are concerned with participating since they feel that Jonathan Pollard broke the law. That is not the point.

   Indeed, none of the submissions to the President claim that Pollard did not break the law. Jonathan’s own submissions have expressed his own remorse and regret.

   The point is that Jonathan has served aproximately 20 years longer than the median sentence for the crime to which he pleaded guilty. He has, in fact, served more time than others who have been convicted of far graver crimes.He has served his time in some of the harshest prisons in the country and has spent aproximaely four years in solitary confinement. Additionally, Jonathan is in ill health, suffering from numerous ailments.

   Jonathan Pollard has served his time. His case screams disproportionate punishment and cries out for commutation. Please join the effort.

2. Dave Weinstein
   December 21st, 2008 @ 2:09 pm

   I will admit that as a Jewish American who was working in military research in the 1980s, I have little if any sympathy for Pollard.

   But he has been eligible for parole for more than a dozen years, and has never applied. I’ve seen the excuses on his web site, and frankly, they don’t convince me. If he can’t be bothered to try the admittedly unlikely route of asking for parole, why should other people bother the admittedly unlikely route of asking for commutation?

3. David Linn
   December 21st, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

   Dave,

   I’m not a criminal attorney but Pollard is represented by the best of the best. They have repeatedly advised him not to apply for parole. There are numerous reasons for this, the chief one being that if parole is denied, based upon the sentencing, Pollard couldn’t come back before the board for another 15 years. During that 15 year period, the chances of a Presidental commutation are pretty much nil.

   You might disagree with this approach but it’s hardly a reason not to support the push for Pollard’s pardon and it’s certainly not a situation of Pollard not “bothering to try”.

4. Dave Weinstein
   December 21st, 2008 @ 3:43 pm

   Jonathan Pollard was eligible for parole after 8.5 years. That means the “15 year wait” would have nearly expired.

   So tell me again why it was so important he not apply for parole?

5. Fern
   December 22nd, 2008 @ 1:00 am

   Sorry David, but I agree with Dave. I feel little sympathy for a traitor/megalomaniac who aided a regime that committed unspeakable crimes against humanity, not to mention against the Jews living within its borders. If Pollard wants to get out of prison, he can apply for parole like every other criminal. The fact that he has served so much more than the median sentence for his crime only speaks to the lax punishments of other traitors, not that Pollard has served more than his fair share.

6. David Linn
   December 22nd, 2008 @ 10:17 am

   You are both, of course, entitled to your opinions.

   Dave, there are other more intricate issues involving the parole matter. As mentioned, Pollard took counsel in this regard from highly trained and regarded post-conviction experts.
   I would never judge your position as a former intelligence officer and respect and thank you for your service.

   Fern, I consider myself a staunch patriot. I have never excused Pollard’s actions. What I have said is that his sentence seems politically motivated and disproportionate. Your point that “The fact that he has served so much more than the median sentence for his crime only speaks to the lax punishments of other traitors, not that Pollard has served more than his fair share” doesn’t detract from this. Indeed, it supports it. If the government has doled out lax punishment to virtually all others, why are they singling out Pollard?

7. Dave Weinstein
   December 22nd, 2008 @ 11:00 am

   To be clear, I wasn’t an intelligence officer; I worked in military research.

   And frankly, I don’t find Pollard’s sentence to have been politically motivated. You are comparing what he pled to, versus what it may be reasonably concluded he actually did. Plea bargins are always to a lesser offense, and the offense he pled to was severe enough to carry a life sentence.

   Moreover, if you look at the espionage trials of the 1980s, the ringleaders invariably got life. The lesser players got lesser sentences (as did Pollard’s wife), but the ringleaders did not.

   Jonathan Pollard absolutely had incompetent counsel. And the civil libertarian in me would have no problem with him getting another trial. I’d just prefer he draw the same sentence afterwards.

   I do, however, think that Jonathan Pollard and Israel would greatly prefer that things never go to public trial, especially as enough time has passed to give the prosecutors a much freer hand in what evidence they are willing to put before an open court. We know that Israel has never come clean on the operation that Pollard was part of, and it is my personal belief that the reason he has never applied for parole is that there are questions he does not want to answer under oath.

8. David Linn
   December 22nd, 2008 @ 11:58 am

   Dave,

   I agree that Israel wouldn’t want a trial. Neither would the US!

   I don’t think that parole boards ask sworn questions regarding the underlying crime.

   We will have to agree to disagree here (but at least we’re being agreeable!)

9. Bob Miller
   December 22nd, 2008 @ 12:03 pm

   David Linn, as best you can tell, does the Israeli want Pollard out or not?

10. Bob Miller
    December 22nd, 2008 @ 12:04 pm

    I meant “Israeli Government”

11. Dave Weinstein
    December 22nd, 2008 @ 12:10 pm

    I actually think the American intelligence community would much rather have a retrial than let Pollard go free. The damage of the trial to the United States would be relatively minimal at this point.

    However, given the way American jurisprudence works, there is no chance of a retrial anyway.

    Look, I have no doubts that America spies on allied nations as well. But Israel needs America far more than America needs Israel. Israeli spy operations on America were foolish to begin with; using American Jews as the agents was foolish beyond words. I think the Israeli’s involved were fools, but I don’t hold any personal animus against them. They aren’t Americans. Pollard betrayed his country – betrayed my country. And that I cannot forgive.

    One last thing to consider. Consider the impact on American public opinion (and within the American military and intelligence communities) if Pollard has his sentence commuted, and goes to Israel for an expected “Hero’s Welcome”.

12. David Linn
    December 22nd, 2008 @ 12:50 pm

    I don’t know Bob. The consensus seems to be that the Israeli Government is taking a hands off approach.

13. Dave Weinstein
    December 22nd, 2008 @ 12:54 pm

    My personal belief is that the Israeli government does not want Pollard released.

    There were at least some reports that the heightened surveillance on the known Israeli ends of the Pollard operation that revealed the existence of Ben-Ami Kadish as an Israeli spy was generated by tips to the FBI from elements within the Israeli government. Whether this is true or not, I doubt we’ll ever know.

    No doubt, there are parts of the Israeli government that want Pollard released. But I think the government as a whole would prefer to avoid the damage to Israeli interests that a Pollard release would do.

14. Fern
    December 22nd, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

    *David just emailed me pointing out that my comment above didn’t make much sense (and he was nice enough to do it in private). I should not visit blogs hyped up on coffee! Obviously I know that Pollard was spying for Israel, not the USSR (which is what I was referring to above). I have no idea where the USSR reference came from. Just wanted to clarify that I don’t think Israel has “committed unspeakable crimes against humanity, not to mention against the Jews living within its borders.”

15. Charnie
    December 23rd, 2008 @ 5:06 pm

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=27588

16. Josh
    December 25th, 2008 @ 4:40 pm

    Regardless of anyone’s opinions of Jonathon Pollard’s “worthiness” of a pardon, he is still an imprisoned Jew. For that all of Klal Yisrael is obligated in the mitzvah d’ Raisa of Pidyon Shevuim.

17. Arthur
    December 25th, 2008 @ 4:54 pm

    Mr. Pollard broke the law of the land in the USA. While it may be very true that he has served more than most who were ever convicted of his crimes, it is also true that it is up to the courts and the federal prison system to decide if mr pollard should go free.

    Let us remember that until Israel give mr pollard official sanction – this is unlikely, mr pollard will remain in prison

18. Josh
    December 25th, 2008 @ 5:10 pm

    No matter what the courts or Israel do or don’t do, we can still our part to request clemency.

    And if we have reluctance to help out a fellow Jew with their judgment, ask yourself how you would be able to ask for leniency with the Creator of the Universe on your Day of Judgment.

19. Ron Coleman
    December 28th, 2008 @ 7:59 pm

    My problem with the whole discussion is that we obviously don’t really know what’s in the Pollard file, but we do know that every President who promised during his campaign to pardon him has taken one look at that file and dropped his enthusiasm for pardoning him like a hot potato.

    If the psak is, as it seems to be, that there is a mitzvah of pidyon sh’vuyim in connection with a man who generated a chillul Hashem of such historic proportions, so be it. Absent knowledge of all the facts, however, I don’t see how anyone can argue any aspect of the “merits” or proportionality of his present situation.

20. Eric
    January 9th, 2009 @ 12:25 pm

    Watch this video of Rabbi Pesach Lerner discussing the Pollard case and how he has a fighting chance to be freed:

    http://www.4themax.com/press/flash/FLV/FreePollardNow.122908/Storm_the_Heavens.html

21. Eric
    January 9th, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=27642

22. Yid
    March 17th, 2013 @ 7:35 am

    Anyone who thinks that Pollard deserves any punishment has no clue about what Pollard spied. The espionage was vital for Israel’s security. It was about things like terrorist attacks. America had withheld this information from Israel and when Pollard asked why, they gave excuses, for example, they didn’t want to scare Israel.Whoever is against Pollard it’s anti-Semitic as he doesn’t care about Jews being killed in Israel.

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