Two rallies on his behalf are scheduled for the coming days, and rabbis around the world have been asked to dedicate their sermons this Sabbath to the subjects of "pidyon shvuyim [redemption of captives] and Jewish responsibility for one another."
This afternoon, a rally will take place in the Rose Garden, outside the Knesset. In attendance will be Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of Beit El, Jerusalem City Councilman Ya'ir Gabbai, and Eli Joseph, who held a five-month hunger strike on behalf of Pollard several years ago. Asked at the time what motivated him, Joseph said,
"I had organized in the past a few demonstrations on [Pollard's] behalf, but on Rosh HaShanah of this year, I read an interview with his parents in which they said that Israel had abandoned their son... As I am part of Israel, I felt very ashamed of myself, and of what we had done to that person who had only wanted to help Israel to prepare itself against any possible threat against its security."
Joseph has also spent much of the past two years traveling to Israeli schools and teaching students about Pollard's plight.
This coming Sunday, another event will be held to call attention to Jonathan Pollard's continued incarceration, with a demand for concrete government action on his behalf. Supporters will be handcuffed to each other to symbolize Pollard's 19-year incarceration, and hundreds of people will walk from the U.S. Consulate near Jerusalem's Independence Park to the Prime Minister's Residence. A large rally will be held afterwards at Paris Square.
This afternoon, a rally will take place in the Rose Garden, outside the Knesset. In attendance will be Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of Beit El, Jerusalem City Councilman Ya'ir Gabbai, and Eli Joseph, who held a five-month hunger strike on behalf of Pollard several years ago. Asked at the time what motivated him, Joseph said,
"I had organized in the past a few demonstrations on [Pollard's] behalf, but on Rosh HaShanah of this year, I read an interview with his parents in which they said that Israel had abandoned their son... As I am part of Israel, I felt very ashamed of myself, and of what we had done to that person who had only wanted to help Israel to prepare itself against any possible threat against its security."
Joseph has also spent much of the past two years traveling to Israeli schools and teaching students about Pollard's plight.
This coming Sunday, another event will be held to call attention to Jonathan Pollard's continued incarceration, with a demand for concrete government action on his behalf. Supporters will be handcuffed to each other to symbolize Pollard's 19-year incarceration, and hundreds of people will walk from the U.S. Consulate near Jerusalem's Independence Park to the Prime Minister's Residence. A large rally will be held afterwards at Paris Square.