 |
Jewish World Review Oct. 11, 1999 /31 Tishrei, 5760
|
|
Jewish World Review Oct. 11, 1999 /31 Tishrei, 5760
 |
| Pollard |
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
THE CURRENT WISDOM among Jewish "leadership" —
here and abroad — is to seek presidential clemency
for Jonathan Pollard by quiet diplomacy.
It has the ring of reason, and is particularly resonant
because of widely (but wrongly) perceived
excessively public complaints by Mr. Pollard, a
former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst who has been
in jail since 1985 for passing classified information to Israel. It is all the
more misguided by repetition of the canard about his lack of remorse, and
the timorous notion that he continues to cause unseemly embarrassment for
Jewish Americans and Israelís government.
Indeed, Mr. Pollard has hardly been a passive prisoner of conscience.
Rather, he has persistently pressed the injustice of his plight and the
unfairness of his punishment. But whatever "quiet diplomacy" may have
been tried is now likely little more than a myth created for public relations
purposes.
Thus his assertiveness is entirely appropriate and those who urge patience
are wrong.
• The facts of his case are (or should be) completely compelling to anyone
with a sense of justice and fair play.
• The Justice Department blatantly breached the plea agreement that it
would seek something less than the maximum punishment allowed if Mr.
Pollard cooperated. He fully did — as court documents incontrovertibly
illustrate — but the government did all it could to ensure life imprisonment.
• No other person ever convicted of the same crime — passing classified
information to an ally — has served as long; the average sentence is four
years.
• Various government operatives have stated that Mr. Pollardís treason
was enormous. Yet he was neither charged with nor convicted of treason.
Moreover, he has never had a chance to challenge or cross-examine the
evidence hyped against him. No proof has ever been presented that Mr.
Pollard damaged American intelligence interests.
• "Quiet diplomacy" has been tried and it has failed.
Jonathan Pollard quietly voiced contrition early on, and has repeated
statements of unqualified remorse ever since. He has written to President
Clinton that he wishes he had acted within the bounds of the law in his
concerns for Israelís security.
Every Israeli prime minister over the past 15 years has asked the American
president for clemency, and all have been denied — except possibly for
Ehud Barak, who has publicly declared this "an internal American matter"
and refuses to deal with the Pollards. But if he wanted them to keep quiet,
why wouldnít he personally encourage them either with a note, a phone call
or through their Israeli attorney? His utter silence merely frustrates them
into further public outcries. What else should they do in the face of
information that the government of Israel has made no effort on behalf of its
acknowledged agent?
The administration's obsequious obeisance to its intelligence community is
likewise shamefully fraudulent. The president's recent grant of clemency to
14 Puerto Ricans convicted of murderous terrorism flew in the face of
recommendations by the FBI. Yet Mr. Clinton succumbs to the pressure
of the intelligence community not to pardon Mr. Pollard — particularly
CIA Director George Tenet's outrageous threat to resign if he does —
even though no evidence has ever been produced that Mr. Pollard's
actions cost a single life.
What would Mr. Clinton have to lose by exercising clemency during
whatever is left of his lame-duck presidency? On the other hand, he would
gain a measure of moral stature if he did what surely his conscience should
dictate.
Related:
This case has always been political — as are many high-profile spying
cases — and is made all the more so by the Mideast peace process being
so actively brokered by the United States. Mr. Clintonís apparent
double-cross of Binyamin Netanyahu, who has publicly disclosed that he
came to the Wye talks only with the understanding that he would return to
Israel with Mr. Pollard, belies the presidentís oft-stated declarations that he
never promised anything to the Israeli prime minister.
Kenneth Lasson is a law professor at the University of Baltimore. Comment on this column by clicking here.
08/10/99: Pollard's Case May Be Crucial to Hillary's Run
03/05/99: It's time we all saw the "secret charges" against
Jonathan Pollard
01/08/99: Equal treatment under the law demands Pollard's release
11/19/98: The Spy Left Out In the Cold Too Long
11/11/98: Pollard hopeful GOP changes will benefit him
10/28/98: Peace process or spin politics?
04/09/98: The US Navy's two faced Pollard policy
