Over 500 Jewish and Christian leaders sign letter calling for Pollard's
Over 500 American Jewish and Christian leaders have signed a letter to President Obama calling for the release of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. January 3, 2011A list of the signatories may be found here.
The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We, the undersigned over five hundred religious and communal leaders representative of the broad spectrum of the American faith community - wish to add our voices in support of clemency for Jonathan Pollard. We are united in the fundamental belief that "Justice, only justice, shall you pursue" (Deuteronomy 16:20), which rests at the core of our moral principles and system of justice.
Mr. Pollard is currently serving his 26th year of a life sentence, having been indicted on one count of passing classified information to an ally without intent to harm the United States. We certainly do not condone his crime, nor do we underestimate the gravity of the offense. But it is patently clear that the sentence was and remains terribly disproportionate - the average punishment is a 2-4 year prison term - and (as several federal judges have noted) constitutes a gross miscarriage of justice.
As you know, prominent figures from across the spectrum have publicly stated their support for Mr. Pollard's release. They include Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Senators Charles Schumer and Arlen Specter, Harvard Law Professors Charles Ogletree and Alan Dershowitz, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, Rev. Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame, Benjamin Hooks of the NAACP, former federal Judge George Leighton, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, Pastor John Hagee, and Gary Bauer. Furthermore, thirty-nine members of Congress have recently submitted to you a "Dear Colleague" letter led by Congressman Barney Frank in support of commuting Mr. Pollard's sentence. Perhaps most noteworthy, similar support has come from those who have seen the classified information of the actual damage caused including former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, Congressman Anthony Weiner, and former Senator and Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dennis DeConcini.
After more than two and a half decades in prison, Mr. Pollard's health is declining. He has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, and by all accounts has served as a model inmate.
Commuting his sentence to time served would be a wholly appropriate exercise of your power of clemency - as well as a matter of basic fairness and American justice. It would also represent a clear sense of compassion and reconciliation - a sign of hope much needed in today's world of tension and turmoil.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Respectfully,
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a letter to President Obama officially asking for Pollard's release. That too is long overdue.
Labels: clemency, Jonathan Pollard, spying
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:07 PM
5 Comments:
plz note the letter states "We certainly do not condone his crime, nor do we underestimate the gravity of the offense"--defense of Pollard is going beyond questioning the sentencing to champion his actions in and of themselves as Jewish heroism and to deny, at least implicitly, that there was anything wrong with his crime in the first place.
Hamas, Hezbullah, Land for peace, Palestinian state
There's more than one point of view on Jonathan Pollard. Here's a lengthy article at Free Republic that goes into great detail on the Pollard case.
Pollard, a native born American citizen, sought out and was given a well-paid civilian intel. analyst job in a position of high trust in the US Navy, swearing an oath of loyalty and secrecy. Pollard broke that oath, for money, repeatedly and egregiously, with serious consequences for the United States.
Personally, I think Pollard should never be released. Many Israelis, and even misguided Americans, want to consider Pollard some kind of martyr or hero. That opinion is not shared by informed Americans, including me.
Sparky and Captain H,
I don't believe Pollard is a martyr or a hero, and there is no doubt that he broke his oath of loyalty, for money, repeatedly and egregiously. I question whether the consequences for the US were as serious as they were originally thought to be because at the time that Pollard was sentenced it was not yet known that Ames and Hanson were passing information to Russia and that they - and not Pollard - were the Russians' sources.
What's clear from people like Korb and DeConcini - who were in a position to know - is that Pollard's punishment has gone far beyond what fits the crime.
When I took criminal law during my first year of law school - 30 years ago - we read the Judge's sentencing memo for Rabbi Bernard Bergman, a nursing home magnate who was caught skimming from the government. He was considered the symbol of abuse in nursing homes in the late '70's. From what I recall, sentencing has four goals: deterrence, rehabilitation, restitution and punishment. In light of the fact that spies for America's enemies have gotten lighter sentences and spent less time in jail than Pollard, can anyone argue that continuing to hold him reasonably accomplishes any of those goals?
The only real argument for holding Pollard that I have seen is one with which I think you guys would disagree, and one to which Israel would never consent. That argument was in Washington Note yesterday (written by uber-liberal Steve Bennen if I'm remembering his name correctly) and says that Pollard should only be released in exchange for a 'two-state solution.'
Is that how you want to conduct 'negotiations'?
Carl,
I see your mentioning some American extreme liberal's speculation that Pollard should only be exchanged for an Israeli agreement to a "two state" settlement as a red herring. No, that is not how I want to conduct 'negotiations'. Pollard case and his fate have absolutely nothing to do with Israel and any potential agreement with any of it's neighbors.
Nor do I think that some American traitors caught spying for foreign powers getting far too light a sentence justifies giving Pollard or any other traitor far too light a sentence. Multiple wrongs do not make a right.
I take a very hard viewpoint. Americans spying on America for any foreign power are traitors. Pollard, Ames, Hanson and other traitors to whom you reference, all should have been executed.
I really suggest you read that article I linked. Here's an excerpt: "A full accounting of the materials provided by Pollard to the Israelis has been impossible to obtain: Pollard himself has estimated that the documents would create a stack six feet wide, six feet long, and ten feet high."
Read in the article what they do know Pollard sold, and the known consequences thereof. They are serious.
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