Pollard, Israel and American Antisemitism

The Pollard Affair haunts the American Jewish community and the State of Israel. It raises questions regarding the status and security of Jews in the United States, the relationship between Israel and the US, and the evolving character of Israel as State of the Jews. How did American Jewry respond to the unfolding events surrounding the arrest and trial of Jonathan Pollard; on what was his life sentence without parole based and justified? How did Israel respond to Pollard's arrest and trial? And who are those "unnamed government sources" who surface in the press obviously timed to pressure Israel and remind us of Pollard's "perfidy."

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In an exchange of letters in 1989 during which Pollard ask I lead the effort to promote his freedom Jonathan and I agreed that only Israeli government intervention would achieve that goal. Once I accepted the challenge all postal communication between the two of us came to an abrupt and mysterious end.

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Letter to MK Yishai: 'Your support could not have been more timely'

Dear MK Yishai
 
I was very gratified by the decision of Rabbi Yosef and Shas to openly support the release of Jonathan Pollard. During our earliest correspondence Jonathan and I agreed that his only real possibility for release would result from the intervention of the Israel Government on his behalf.
 
As one who helped organize and was first Director of Justice for the Pollards in 1989 I have taken an active interest in his case for many years. In 1989 I brought Jonathan's sister to Israel to lay the foundation for grassroots and governmental support for his release. That visit resulted in a letter from the Chief Rabbis to President Reagan, the public support of Interior Minister Hammer, and a meeting in the Knesset with more than 30 members from all parties. From that meeting, and with the assistance of the office of MK Geula Cohen, we were able to draft a petition calling for Pollard's release. The petition was signed by more than seventy members and delivered to the White House by an official delegation of Knesset members in early 1990.