At a Sunday night, memorial dinner for slain Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze\'evi, Rabbi Pesach Lerner read aloud a letter by Jonathan Pollard. Pollard was convicted of sharing classified documents with an American ally, and has been sitting in prison for over 15 years - longer than any other person convicted of a similar crime.
In the letter, Pollard thanked Ze’evi for being the, “only Israeli politician” who was always there for him. He also thanked Ze’evi for his efforts to persuade Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to “bring [Pollard] home,\" but, according to Pollard, “the Prime Minister preferred to let me die in prison.” Other highlights of the letter:
“For all the years that we knew you, you treated Esther [Pollard\'s wife] and me as your own children. You stood with us when we stood all alone. You laughed with us, cried with us, argued with us, strategized with us and loved us unconditionally.”
“You were the consummate diplomat. You made yourself the spokesman for all who could not speak for themselves - for the soldiers missing in action, and for me, an agent in peril. You became our flag bearer. Everywhere you went, at every opportunity you raised the Israeli flag for us. You reminded the nation not to forget us. You reminded the
world not to forget us. And whenever foreign dignitaries visited Israel, you reminded them of us. You were the only one with the strength of character to stand up in Knesset when Bill Clinton visited and to call out, ‘Mr. President, what about Jonathan Pollard?’”
“You wore our names on a dog-tag around your neck. Everyone knew the names of
the 6 MIAs you had engraved on the dog tag. Few knew that my name was engraved there too. You died with my name over your heart. Your name will be engraved on my heart for the rest ofmy life. I am forever indebted to you.”
In the letter, Pollard thanked Ze’evi for being the, “only Israeli politician” who was always there for him. He also thanked Ze’evi for his efforts to persuade Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to “bring [Pollard] home,\" but, according to Pollard, “the Prime Minister preferred to let me die in prison.” Other highlights of the letter:
“For all the years that we knew you, you treated Esther [Pollard\'s wife] and me as your own children. You stood with us when we stood all alone. You laughed with us, cried with us, argued with us, strategized with us and loved us unconditionally.”
“You were the consummate diplomat. You made yourself the spokesman for all who could not speak for themselves - for the soldiers missing in action, and for me, an agent in peril. You became our flag bearer. Everywhere you went, at every opportunity you raised the Israeli flag for us. You reminded the nation not to forget us. You reminded the
world not to forget us. And whenever foreign dignitaries visited Israel, you reminded them of us. You were the only one with the strength of character to stand up in Knesset when Bill Clinton visited and to call out, ‘Mr. President, what about Jonathan Pollard?’”
“You wore our names on a dog-tag around your neck. Everyone knew the names of
the 6 MIAs you had engraved on the dog tag. Few knew that my name was engraved there too. You died with my name over your heart. Your name will be engraved on my heart for the rest ofmy life. I am forever indebted to you.”