More than two months after former U.S. President George W. Bush left Jonathan Pollard to languish in prison for untold additional months or years, no Israeli signs of his imminent release are visible.
The Justice for Jonathan Pollard organization (J4JP) protests the lack of change in Israeli policy and the government’s continued passivity vis-a-vis requesting clemency for Pollard. Pollard has been in prison for well over 23 years, sentenced to life for what is usually a 2-4 year crime: one count of passing classification to an ally – Israel.
J4JP also has harsh words for the Haaretz newspaper for appearing to cooperate with the official government line regarding Pollard. “Israeli officialdom… slams the window shut by disseminating disinformation,” the organization claims, noting that it is “deeply distressing” that this occurs “as we approach Passover, the Jewish Holiday of Freedom and a golden window of opportunity for Israel to request Jonathan Pollard's release.”
J4JP quotes a Thursday article by Haaretz correspondent Yossi Melman, which contains, the organization accuses, one “blatant lie” and a conclusion designed to lead to inaction. J4JP says it is totally untrue to claim, as Haaretz did, that Israel has paid all of Pollard’s legal expenses. If it is true, the organization asks, “why do all of Pollard’s attorneys work pro-bono?”
“The article ends with the usual ‘inevitable’ conclusion,” J4JP also charges, “that absolutely nothing more can be done by Israel to help Pollard. The timing of this disinformation about a so-called ‘probe’ of Israel's treatment of Jonathan Pollard is calculated to defuse any public expectation that there will be any effort expended to secure Pollard's release for Passover.”
Few Expectations re: Lindenstrauss
The pro-Pollard organization says it has few expectations that the ongoing probe by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss regarding the government’s treatment of Pollard will be a positive development for Pollard. Lindenstrauss is quoted as saying that he has been forced to rely on the word of government officials, and has no authority for testimony or evidence.
“The U.S. President's powers of clemency are unlimited,” J4JP states. “It is Israel's leaders who torpedo Jonathan's release” by not asking for it directly.