The letter begins straightforwardly:
"We are approaching the eve of Passover, the Holiday of Freedom for the Jewish people. I am writing to ask you to release my husband, Jonathan Pollard. Jonathan is completing his 20th year of a life sentence in an American prison for his activities on behalf of Israel."
Mrs. Pollard then notes the unique aspects of her husband's case, notably the fact that he is "in his 20th year of a life sentence for an offense which carries a median sentence of 2 to 4 years," that he is the only person in the history of the United States to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally," and that he "received his life sentence without benefit of trial, [but rather] as the result of a plea bargain which he honored and the government abrogated."
She wrote that he was never indicted for harming the United States, nor for compromising codes, agents or war plans. On the other hand, his is "the only espionage case in which then-Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger personally intervened to influence the court."
Mrs. Pollard explained that Weinberger "delivered a memorandum to the sentencing judge, falsely accusing Jonathan of treason - a crime he was never accused of nor indicted for - and called for the maximum sentence of life. Since Jonathan was sentenced in 1987, neither he nor his security-cleared attorneys have ever been permitted to access the Weinberger document to challenge the lies it contains in a court of law. Jonathan is still not permitted to access the document - even though
Weinberger himself admitted in a 2002 interview that the case against Jonathan Pollard was actually 'a small matter' and that it had been blown up and 'made far bigger than its actual importance.'"
She wrote that as her husband enjoys support "across the broadest possible social and political spectrum" in Israel, it would be most fitting "if Jonathan were home in Jerusalem in time for the first night of Passover - a holiday that marks the liberation of the Jewish nation from bondage. Releasing my husband would be a credit to your honor and a blessing for both America and Israel."
She had criticism of Prime Minister Sharon for not even mentioning the issue during his meeting with Bush in Texas last week, for not having given the president a Knesset petition signed by 112 MKs asking for Pollard's release, and for not giving him the letter signed by all the chief rabbis of Israel, past and present, asking for Jonathan's release as a gesture for Passover.
Mrs. Pollard also criticized American justice. Quoting a new book by the former Special Envoy to the Middle East, Dennis Ross, she states that U.S. officials acknowledge that Jonathan deserves to be free as a matter of simple justice, but refuse to release him because he is too valuable as a bargaining chip against Israel.
"Mr. President, this deplorable situation has to stop," concludes Mrs. Pollard. "Jonathan is not a bargaining chip, or a carrot on a stick. He is a flesh-and-blood human being who has served a very, very long and harsh sentence for the offense he committed. He is now simply being held hostage for political exploitation by both U.S. and Israeli officials - each for their own motives. I am appealing to you as a God-fearing man to answer positively the appeals of 112 Knesset Members, all the chief rabbis of Israel and all the people of Israel by releasing my husband, Jonathan Pollard... in time for Passover in Jerusalem."
"We are approaching the eve of Passover, the Holiday of Freedom for the Jewish people. I am writing to ask you to release my husband, Jonathan Pollard. Jonathan is completing his 20th year of a life sentence in an American prison for his activities on behalf of Israel."
Mrs. Pollard then notes the unique aspects of her husband's case, notably the fact that he is "in his 20th year of a life sentence for an offense which carries a median sentence of 2 to 4 years," that he is the only person in the history of the United States to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally," and that he "received his life sentence without benefit of trial, [but rather] as the result of a plea bargain which he honored and the government abrogated."
She wrote that he was never indicted for harming the United States, nor for compromising codes, agents or war plans. On the other hand, his is "the only espionage case in which then-Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger personally intervened to influence the court."
Mrs. Pollard explained that Weinberger "delivered a memorandum to the sentencing judge, falsely accusing Jonathan of treason - a crime he was never accused of nor indicted for - and called for the maximum sentence of life. Since Jonathan was sentenced in 1987, neither he nor his security-cleared attorneys have ever been permitted to access the Weinberger document to challenge the lies it contains in a court of law. Jonathan is still not permitted to access the document - even though
Weinberger himself admitted in a 2002 interview that the case against Jonathan Pollard was actually 'a small matter' and that it had been blown up and 'made far bigger than its actual importance.'"
She wrote that as her husband enjoys support "across the broadest possible social and political spectrum" in Israel, it would be most fitting "if Jonathan were home in Jerusalem in time for the first night of Passover - a holiday that marks the liberation of the Jewish nation from bondage. Releasing my husband would be a credit to your honor and a blessing for both America and Israel."
She had criticism of Prime Minister Sharon for not even mentioning the issue during his meeting with Bush in Texas last week, for not having given the president a Knesset petition signed by 112 MKs asking for Pollard's release, and for not giving him the letter signed by all the chief rabbis of Israel, past and present, asking for Jonathan's release as a gesture for Passover.
Mrs. Pollard also criticized American justice. Quoting a new book by the former Special Envoy to the Middle East, Dennis Ross, she states that U.S. officials acknowledge that Jonathan deserves to be free as a matter of simple justice, but refuse to release him because he is too valuable as a bargaining chip against Israel.
"Mr. President, this deplorable situation has to stop," concludes Mrs. Pollard. "Jonathan is not a bargaining chip, or a carrot on a stick. He is a flesh-and-blood human being who has served a very, very long and harsh sentence for the offense he committed. He is now simply being held hostage for political exploitation by both U.S. and Israeli officials - each for their own motives. I am appealing to you as a God-fearing man to answer positively the appeals of 112 Knesset Members, all the chief rabbis of Israel and all the people of Israel by releasing my husband, Jonathan Pollard... in time for Passover in Jerusalem."