Posted on 02/08/2014 11:23:21 PM PST by IsraelBeach
CIA Director: Jonathan Pollard Is In Prison Because He's Jewish
By Karen Levy
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem — February 9, 2014 ... There have been many senior US officials who have called for Israeli Jonathan Pollard to be released, but none ever came from this highest of security institutions. Former CIA Director James Woolsey has reiterated his call for the immediate release of Jonathan Pollard, now in his 29th year behind American bars over charges of spying for Israel.
Speaking to the Israel News Agency, Woolsey stated: "It's enough. After a quarter century the time has come to free Pollard. That doesn't mean that what he did wasn't serious, I've seen the materials in 1993 and what he disclosed was very confidential content. But I tell people 'imagine he's a Greek American and free him."
Jonathan Pollard was a civilian American Naval intelligence analyst when he gave thousands of classified documents to his Israeli handlers. In the mid 1980's, Pollard discovered that information vital to Israel's security was being deliberately withheld by certain elements within the US national security establishment.
Israel was legally entitled to this vital security information according to a 1983 Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries.
Pollard was arrested in 1985 and later sentenced to life in prison.
In 2012, Woolsey wrote a highly critical letter to the Wall Street Journal, in which he illustrated examples of various spies released after 10 years, calling on the US to "pretend Pollard isn't Jewish and release him." He noted that "one especially damaging Greek-American spy, Steven Lalas, received a 14-year sentence."
The argument that Pollard's ongoing imprisonment is a result of US anti-Semitism was made by Tablet magazine and by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in January.
Israel Construction and Building Minister Uri Ariel responded to Woolsey's comments, calling them a "stinging indictment" of the American government, which has "left Pollard to rot in jail from anti-Semitism and nothing else. I call on US Secretary of State John Kerry and US President Barack Obama to prove that isn't true, to act humanely and free Pollard immediately."
Israeli MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) similarly responded to Woolsey's comments, saying "the US itself can't logically explain not releasing Pollard from jail after 29 years. True friendship is expressed by little kindnesses and mutual understanding. If Israel is asked and able to make such large concessions for its enemies, how much more so should it be expected between friends."
"If the US is indeed our greatest friend, it needs to free Jonathan Pollard immediately," added Shaked.
Woolsey, who was head of the CIA under President Bill Clinton's administration, stressed that the US doesn't need to spy on Israel.
"America has understandings with the Canadians, Australians, and the British not to spy on each other. We also have an excellent relationship with Germany and Israel, and I think we don't need to spy on them," noted the former CIA chief.
The headquarters for Pollard's release responded to the statements as well, saying "we very much hope that (Obama) will decide to put an end to the tragedy and the saga and to free Jonathan."
Woolsey's said Saturday that Americans who spied for other countries including Korea and Greece were freed after short sentences, while Jonathan Pollard is still behind bars after 25 years.
"I certainly don't think that it is universally true, but in the case of some American individuals, I think there is anti-Semitism at work here," Woolsey said.
He said others who did the same as Pollard were freed quickly.
A declassified damage assessment reveals that Pollard was seeking information for nuclear, military and technical information on the Arab states, Pakistan, and the Soviet Union, and not on the United States.
The damage assessment, which was classified by the CIA reveals that Pollard’s handlers “never expressed interest in US military activities, plans, capabilities, or equipment.”
No, it doesn't.
It's funny how all of the jack@sses who come out with these public statements in support of Pollard's release fail to mention that.
The race card is ugly no matter who plays it.
The best reason I can think of for keeping Pollard in prison is that the next Jew who thinks about giving away our secrets might just remember what happened to Pollard, and decide the punishment is too great.
Now if we could only lock up all mossad agents and their supporters worldwide, then we’d get somewhere.
In the mid 1980's, Pollard discovered that information vital to Israel's security was being deliberately withheld by certain elements within the US national security establishment. Israel was legally entitled to this vital security information according to a 1983 Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries.Snowden / Wikileaks / Paul family ping.
Every time someone brings up Pollard, they may as well be an agent for Iran.
No, that's NOT the issue. Pollard was guilty of handing over classified documents to his Israeli handler; he even confessed and gave details of his activities as part of a plea bargain. Unfortunately, the judge in the case (the late Aubrey Robinson, a black Democrat Carter appointee, BTW) gave him absolutely NO leniency in sentencing, in violation of the plea bargain agreement. Rather than give him three years, five years, or even ten years, he gave Pollard LIFE. This sentence was draconian in comparison to other sentences meted out to other defendants convicted of spying for friendly or allied nations. We're not talking about spying for the USSR here.
As it turns out, Pollard has now served 29 years, much longer than any other espionage case where the beneficiary was a friendly or allied nation. It won't harm the US at all if his sentence were to be commuted to time served at this point. Whatever then-classified information Pollard knew about all those years ago is undoubtedly out of date and useless now. And the length of that time served would more than an adequate deterrent to others thinking of any similar activities on the part of Israel or any other ally or friendly nation.
BTW, the headline on the posted piece should have read "FORMER CIA Director," not "CIA Director," because Mr. Woolsey is not connected to the current administration at all.
Enough already. He knew the risks. He can die a hero in prison.
Oliver North, in his books—relates how the very core culture of the US State Department (and this was in the ‘80s before the “anti-Zionist” movement became vogue on America’s campuses) is virulently anti-Semitic.
You can bet Hillary was a big part of that too—and we know where Mr. Obama-and-friends stand in the Arab-Israeli conflict....
The above comment reinforces and validates the headline.
Pollard is only in prison today because he is Jewish. That's not a race card being played, it's fact! How many Jews work for the NSA, CIA and mil Intel? How many don't want to? How many Jews in influential places think twice about cooperating with US Intel because of anti-semitism?
It's time to release Pollard. He has more than paid the price for the crime ... unless of course your thinking is "let that Jew boy rot in prison".
Keeping Pollard locked up after 29 years does not hurt Israel, it hurts US Intel.
I don’t tend to think of adults as boys. Nor do I think of Pollard as a Jew primarily, just as a traitor. Many Jewish folks do seem to have this, “ Oh, poor me. I’m Jewish, so every little discomfort in my life must be because of my Jewish heritage” which I find annoying. I’m glad my son in law isn’t infected with the woe is me affliction.
Lets be clear, Pollard violated his plea agreement by talking to the media (liberal barf-bag Wolf Blitzer, BTW) before his sentencing, which essentially took any 'deal' he had off the table, and his criminal activity extended well beyond just selling highly classified information to the Israelis who to this day have not come clean about the extent of what they received.
Pollard didn’t give secrets to Israel; he sold them for a down payment of $50,000 with the expectation of $450,000 more.
Once another entity gets that information, you lose all control over where that information could wind up. Who is to say some of Pollard’s intel, didn’t eventually wind up in the hands of the ChiComs?
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