Thinking About Jonathan Pollard

Artuz Sheva ^ | 08 December 2002 | Larry Domnitch

[SJackson]

The third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also known by his pen name, the Tzemach Tzedek, sent a letter to one of his emissaries on behalf of another, named Reb Chaim Yehoshua, who was languishing in a Russian jail. Through tireless efforts and at great personal risk, Reb Chaim Yehoshua had managed to rescue hundreds of boys from the fate of being inducted for prolonged service in Czar Nicholas´ army as Cantonists. The Czar´s purpose in recruiting the boys (literally boys) was to force them to accept baptism - by any means. Reb Chaim landed in prison due to the workings of an informant, and he was charged with sedition.

The letter was sent to another Chabad activist named Rabbi Zev Wolf, calling upon him to act on Reb Chaim Yehoshua´s behalf. Reb Chaim was being held in a military prison and faced severe punishment by a military court if convicted of the charges. Just one line from the very short letter contains very potent massages for us all. The Tzemach Tzedek wrote, "Watch over him closely," facing charges in military court, he was in great danger; "With all your heart and soul," Rabbi Zev Wolf usually conducted rescue efforts in a calculating manner with little emotion. In this instance, he was instructed to put emotion into the effort; "And bestow upon him kindness," as Reb Chaim had placed himself at risk and saved so many, there must be reciprocity for his deeds;(*) "Do this for me," As if he would be acting on behalf of the Rebbe - the Tzemach Tzedek - himself. This case was personal. Every case of releasing captives is special, but the case of Reb Chaim Yehoshua was of extra importance.

Such is the case with Jonathan Pollard.

I personally have acted on behalf of Jonathan Pollard, as have many of us. We have recited prayers, and have written letters, and attended synagogue functions on his behalf. Some of us have also protested at the steps of the Justice Department in Washington D.C., and on the streets of New York and other cities. But we must ask ourselves, as the years pass and Jonathan Pollard remains in jail, “What have we done lately? And have we acted with sufficient fervency and dedication?” Clearly, not enough has been done.

A reminder: We all still owe Jonathan Pollard. He refused to remain silent. And when he discovered the dangers to Israel, he took risks for over a period of four years in order to inform Israel of the emerging threats from Iraq. The consequences he is paying are for actions on our behalf. As Jonathan himself wrote in a letter back in 1987, "I´d rather be rotting in prison then sitting shiva for the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who could have died." We all owe him, big time.

If we do not speak up, who will? Why should a non-Jewish congressman speak up when so many Jewish representatives of heavily Jewish districts are silent? If their constituents were more vocal, they would be as well. Some action on the matter would also no doubt awaken more Knesset members to act. It is time to get moving again, to speak up, to redeem a special captive.

Even during the horrendous and panic ridden days of Nicholas I, efforts to pressure the authorities, succeeded in having Reb Chaim Yehoshua´s case moved from a military to a civilian court, where he received a far lighter sentence. We should be able to accomplish no less for Jonathan Pollard, our brother.

(*) The comments are from the compilation, Igrois Kodesh.

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Larry Domnitch is an author and educator who resides in Efrat.

[onedoug]

Pollard is where Al Gore should be, for also having committed espionage at the Buddhist temple.

[E Rocc]

Funny how the article forgot to mention that the information Pollard provided ended up with our enemies at the time, the Russians. He's lucky to be sitting in a cell.

Does anyone actually still defend this traitor? He spied on the US, and some of the information he stole ended up in the hands of the Soviets.

The only question that's really relevant anymore is if it got to them through a Soviet mole in Mossad (as the Israelis claim) or if it was being traded to the KGB for emigres (as many in US intelligence suspect). The nature of some of it indicates the latter.

-Eric

[RCW2001]

I understand you already used your Pollard tag's this year.

Well actually, I was fully prepared to post this article but was saving it for a 'slow day'.

Good job done...either way.

[bribriagain]

Once again, you demonstrate honor and morality. Thanks for your posts.

[bribriagain]

Wait, I've seen him post in Non-Jewish posts.

As I have seen you post otherwise. My question would be: do we take away folks like your self, or RCW2001, who contribute much, who suspect more, but prove little?

[Illbay]

Oh, please. Not more whining over Pollard. Look, if we hang Hanson and one or two others on the same gibbet, can we also hang Pollard without begin accused of anti-Semitism?

I'd like to see 'em all dance (including that slut who sold intelligence to Cuba and then stated she was proud of it).

[dennisw]

RCW2001 has an agenda. It's to trash Israel, make Israel and Jews look bad. This is fact, just as I have an agenda.

[TopQuark]

Every case of releasing captives is special, but the case of Reb Chaim Yehoshua was of extra importance.

Such is the case with Jonathan Pollard.

Could someone please tell this guy to put his pen down?

The two cases have noting in common. Reb Chaim Yehoshua has been wronged by an oppressive Russian tsarist regime, and freeing him would be correcting that wrong.

In contrast, Pollard has wronged (betrayed) his own country that has treated him not only fairly but entrusted him matters of survival. And, also in contrast, unlike Russia which imposed on the Jews the pale of settlement and other restrictions, the Jews in this country enjoy full equality. So neither at the personal level nor for Jews in general these two cases have anything in common.

Pollard should rot in jail. SJackson, I agree completely with your assessment: the lack of proportion is there but it arose not because Pollard is treaed harshly but because others were treated all to liniently.

RCW2001 can sleep well now. (Liberty/Pollard is like a cady for this little girl).

[dennisw]

Fact is Pollard's prison sentence is out of line compared to what others have gotten for the same.

[Nachum]

You mean the "Imam".

Insallah.

[Illbay]

How disingenuous. The point isn't that Israel had spies--that would be bad, but not horrifying.

The point is that a U.S CITIZEN spied for Israel, and sold out his own country.

How would YOU like it to find out that an Israeli citizen, a veteran of the IDF in fact, was in fact selling secrets to the U.S. who in return was giving the information to Hamas in exchange for Hamas' leaving American targets out of their outrages?

Don't even bother answering; the screams from you and others would be audible from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

That's why we spit on you and anyone else who tries to make Pollard into this pathetic martyr to your stinkin' cause.

Pollard's going to rot in prison and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[Illbay]

Oh? In what way?

Are you alleging the U.S. is "anti-Semitic" then?

Let's hear your "proof."

[wewereright]

This is like saying Black Americans have recieved stiffer sentances for selling crack cocaine than Whites. You know - they all need to be getting the maximum allowable under the law. Same with Pollard - he betraid his country. He's lucky to be alive and if others have recieved lighter sentances then they are indeed lucky - perhaps too lucky.

[Senator Pardek]

You're wasting your time. The Pollard Crowd is, for all intents and purposes, indistinguishable from the Mumia Crowd.

[RossA]

We would have been happy to trade Pollard for his boss(es). The Isrealis chose to promote them and let Pollard rot in jail. (I enjoy watching his wife cry)

[yonif]

what do you refer to as "your stinkin' cause"?

[dennisw]

That's why we spit on you and anyone else who tries to make Pollard into this pathetic martyr to your stinkin' cause.

Another classy post from the poster boy for Ritalin. I have never seen a freeper say he spits upon another. Not until you came along.

[AlaskaErik]

...I believe Pollard should be released. He has spent enough time in prison.

No he hasn't. The debt will be paid in full when he dies in prison. Until then, let him rot with all the other traitors.

[dennisw]

Oh? In what way? (Did Pollard get a disproportionately long sentence)

Are you alleging the U.S. is "anti-Semitic" then?

No but you are.

Let's hear your "proof."

 

 

Table I: American Allies

• Jonathan Pollard is the only person in the history of the United States to receive a life sentence for spying for an American ally.
• On November 21, 2002, Pollard entered the 18th year of his life sentence, with no end in sight.
• The maximum sentence today for such an offence is 10 years.
• The median sentence for this offence is 2 to 4 years.

 

Name	Country Spied For	Sentence/Punishment	Time Served Before Release*
Jonathan Pollard	Israel	Life imprisonment
Michael Schwartz	Saudi Arabia	Discharged from Navy	No time served.
Peter Lee	China	1 year in halfway house	No jail time.
Samuel Morison	Great Britain	2 years	3 months
Phillip Selden	El Salvador	2 years
Steven Baba	South Africa	8 years; reduced to 2 years	5 months
Sharon Scranage	Ghana	5 years; reduced to 2 years	8 months
Jean Baynes	Phillipines	41 months	15 months
Abdul Kader Helmy	Egypt	4 years	2 years
Geneva Jones	Liberia	37 months
Frederick Hamilton	Ecuador	37 months
Joseph Brown	Phillipines	6 years
Michael Allen	Phillipines	8 years
Robert Kim	South Korea	9 years
Thomas Dolce	South Africa	10 years	5.2 years
Steven Lalas	Greece	14 years

* Time served before release is shown where known. Other cases of early release exist.

[dennisw]

 

Are you alleging the U.S. is "anti-Semitic" then?

No but you are.

Oh? In what way? (Did Pollard get a disproportionately long sentence) Let's hear your "proof."

Here it is pal:

 

Table II: American Enemies

Jonathan Pollard spied for an American ally. This chart shows that Pollard's life sentence is far harsher than most of the sentences received by those who spied for enemies, and thereby committed much more serious offences and treason.

 

Name	Country Spied For	Sentence	Time Served Before Release*
James Wood	Soviet Union	2 years
Sahag Dedyan	Soviet Union	3 years
Randy Jeffries	Soviet Union	3-9 years
Amarylis Santos	Cuba	3½ years
Joseph Santos	Cuba	4 years
Mariano Faget	Cuba	5 years
Brian Horton	Soviet Union	6 years
Alejandro Alonso	Cuba	7 years
William Bell	Poland	8 years
Alfred Zoho	East Germany	8 years
Nikolay Ogarodnikova	Soviet Union	8 years
Francis X. Pizzo	Soviet Union	10 years
Daniel Richardson	Soviet Union	10 years
Ernst Forbich	East Germany	15 years
William Whalen	Soviet Union	15 years
Edwin Moore	Soviet Union	15 years
Troung Dinh Ung	North Vietnam	15 years
Ronald Humphrey	North Vietnam	15 years
Kurt Alan Stand	East Germany	17½ years
Robert Lipka	Soviet Union	18 years
David Barnett	Soviet Union	18 years
Svetlana Ogarodnikova	Soviet Union	18 years
Albert Sombolay	Iraq & Jordan	19 years
Richard Miller	Soviet Union	20 years	6 years
Theresa Maria Squillacote	East Germany	21.8 years
Sarkis Paskallan	Soviet Union	22 years
Harold Nicholson	Soviet Union	23 years
David Boone	Soviet Union	24 years
Ana Belen Montes	Cuba	25 years
Clayton Lonetree	Soviet Union	25 years	9 years
Michael Walker	Soviet Union	25 years	15 years
Bruce Ott	Soviet Union	25 years
Kelly Warren	Hungary & Czechoslovakia	25 years
Earl Pitts	Soviet Union	27 years
H.W. Boachanhaupi	Soviet Union	30 years
Roderick Ramsay	Hungary & Czechoslovakia	36 years
James Hall	Soviet Union & East Germany	40 years
Christopher Boyce	Soviet Union	40 years
William Kampiles	Soviet Union	40 years	19 years
Veldik Enger	Soviet Union	50 years
R.P. Charnyayev	Soviet Union	50 years
Marian Zacharski	Poland	Life	4 years
Aldrich Ames	Soviet Union	Life
Robert Hanssen	Soviet Union	Life

* Time served before release is shown where known. Other cases of early release exist.

 

Aldrich Ames: A Case In Point

Aldrich Ames who spied for an enemy nation (the Soviet Union), committed treason, and was responsible for the deaths of at least 11 American agents, received the same sentence as Jonathan Pollard. Pollard's only indictment was one count of passing classified information to an ally. Pollard spent 7 years in solitary confinement, in the harshest unit of the harshest prison in the Federal system - FCI Marion.

Aldrich Ames' treatment was far more benign, and (except for a relatively short period of time during debriefing) did not include the rigours of long years of solitary; nor was he ever subjected to the harsh conditions of "K" Unit at Marion - even though his offence was far more serious.