The Committee to Bring Jonathan Pollard Home has announced a series of upcoming activities on behalf of the Israeli agent, who has been sitting in an American prison cell for 17.5 years. A group of concerned citizens, led by Eli Joseph of Maaleh Adumim, will begin a hunger strike next week in Jerusalem, and will conduct a vigil from 2-5 PM each day at Paris Square near the Prime Minister's Residence. On Thursday, a week from tomorrow, day-long demonstrations demanding that the Israeli government take the necessary steps to secure Pollard's freedom will be held at over a dozen intersections throughout the country. For information, call 02-9400564.
This Monday evening, Rabbi Moti Elon will dedicate his weekly Torah portion lecture at Bar Ilan University to Jonathan Pollard. Finally, the committee has received the blessing of former Israeli Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu to propose that every Pesach seder feature an empty place at the table, symbolizing our longing to see Pollard back home in freedom with the rest of Israel.
On the political front, a disappointed Jonathan Pollard wrote a fiery letter to Justice Minister Tommy Lapid of Shinui, who went public a few days ago with the fact that his request to U.S. Attorney-General Ashcroft for a pardon for Pollard had not borne fruit. "Of course not!," Pollard wrote. "The American Attorney-General has no authority to pardon anyone! Only the President can. By going to the wrong official, you have done my case immeasurable harm. This initiative merely broadcasts to the Americans, Israel's insincerity and indifference towards my release."
"My attorney, Larry Dub, asked to meet with you in Jerusalem BEFORE your trip to Washington," Pollard wrote, "in order to introduce you to my American attorneys, [who] would have briefed you on my new legal case. They would have told you that the most effective help that you could request from John Ashcroft would be to allow my attorneys access to the classified portion of my court docket... [They] would also have asked you to banish the word 'pardon' from your vocabulary... [A]n important opportunity was lost..." The full text of Pollard's letter to Minister Lapid can be seen here.
"Even after you failed with Ashcroft," Pollard also wrote, "you could have sustained an American initiative had you, even at that point, met with our attorneys and asked them for input and direction. You could have come to see me. Instead you went to the media. That was, of course, the surest way to kill any further initiative on my behalf."
Pollard's wife Esther spoke with Israel Radio on Monday and explained that the publicizing of Lapid's contacts actually harmed chances for her husband's release: "It broadcast a message to the Americans that this initiative was really an Israeli domestic issue undertaken for public-relations purposes in Israel, and not a serious initiative in the US for Jonathan's release."
This Monday evening, Rabbi Moti Elon will dedicate his weekly Torah portion lecture at Bar Ilan University to Jonathan Pollard. Finally, the committee has received the blessing of former Israeli Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu to propose that every Pesach seder feature an empty place at the table, symbolizing our longing to see Pollard back home in freedom with the rest of Israel.
On the political front, a disappointed Jonathan Pollard wrote a fiery letter to Justice Minister Tommy Lapid of Shinui, who went public a few days ago with the fact that his request to U.S. Attorney-General Ashcroft for a pardon for Pollard had not borne fruit. "Of course not!," Pollard wrote. "The American Attorney-General has no authority to pardon anyone! Only the President can. By going to the wrong official, you have done my case immeasurable harm. This initiative merely broadcasts to the Americans, Israel's insincerity and indifference towards my release."
"My attorney, Larry Dub, asked to meet with you in Jerusalem BEFORE your trip to Washington," Pollard wrote, "in order to introduce you to my American attorneys, [who] would have briefed you on my new legal case. They would have told you that the most effective help that you could request from John Ashcroft would be to allow my attorneys access to the classified portion of my court docket... [They] would also have asked you to banish the word 'pardon' from your vocabulary... [A]n important opportunity was lost..." The full text of Pollard's letter to Minister Lapid can be seen here.
"Even after you failed with Ashcroft," Pollard also wrote, "you could have sustained an American initiative had you, even at that point, met with our attorneys and asked them for input and direction. You could have come to see me. Instead you went to the media. That was, of course, the surest way to kill any further initiative on my behalf."
Pollard's wife Esther spoke with Israel Radio on Monday and explained that the publicizing of Lapid's contacts actually harmed chances for her husband's release: "It broadcast a message to the Americans that this initiative was really an Israeli domestic issue undertaken for public-relations purposes in Israel, and not a serious initiative in the US for Jonathan's release."