For me, the story began about 17 years ago. I sincerely hope and pray that it ends soon.
I joined the National Council of Young Israel’s (NCYI) professional staff in October 1991. One of the first things I began doing was visiting the many Young Israel branches. During the first few years of my employment at NCYI, I visited almost all of the more than 150 Young Israel branches throughout the United States and Canada.
During that time, I heard about an event which was scheduled to take place at the Young Israel of Manhattan in the Lower East Side of New York City, which was to focus on sharing information and raising awareness about Jonathan Pollard. I thought that attending the event would be a great way to meet the members of the shul and to learn something about Jonathan Pollard, a name that I recognized but did not really know much about. I attended the event, where not only did I meet members of the shul, but I also heard a startling story about Jonathan Pollard, who spied for Israel and received a life sentence. The Pollard story bothered me, as I had too many questions and not enough answers. I started researching the Pollard story, asking questions, and inquiring into the activities of the Jewish community on his behalf.
When I reported my findings to the Executive Board of the National Council of Young Israel, they encouraged me to continue my research and to keep them informed. Young Israel has always prided itself on doing what was right, not necessarily what was politically popular. I continued my research, met with Jonathan Pollard in prison soon thereafter, and NCYI and the Pollard cause have been intertwined ever since.
My involvement in the Pollard case has taken me to the halls of the Knesset, to the offices of the Israel Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, and to the waiting rooms and offices of current and former Israeli government ministers and officials. I have met with current and former members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives and other U.S. government officials. I have sought advice and direction from Torah sages throughout Israel and the United States. I have visited numerous leaders of both Jewish and non-Jewish national organizations.
I have met countless caring and concerned individuals from countries and cities throughout the world, in person, over the telephone, and via e-mail. I have been interviewed about the Pollard case for newspapers, magazines, television and radio. I have addressed synagogue and school groups, and spoken at numerous rallies.
My understanding of the Pollard case has deepened over the years, and my commitment to help a fellow Jew has only intensified. My personal relationship with Jonathan, to whom I have written, spoken to, and visited so many times, has been deeply enhanced.
Jonathan committed a crime, and he admits to that. He has expressed remorse for his activities, in writing and personally, to many American and Israeli government officials. Jonathan understands and accepts that he was to be punished for his crime. But as he begins his 24th year in the American federal correctional system, the time is overdue for Jonathan Pollard to go home, to Israel, to his family.
After completing 23 long and hard years in prison, it is time for our leaders to view this case with a sense of compassion and to make an honest and fair request to free Jonathan Pollard, at least, on humanitarian grounds. There are so many who agree that Jonathan’s 23 years in prison are more than enough. James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, agrees. Senator Charles Schumer and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York agree. Former Senator Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, who was Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee when Pollard was arrested, agrees. Members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives agree. Vice President-Elect Joe Biden agrees. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations agrees. The Israeli Knesset and all living past and present Chief Rabbis of Israel agree. Elie Wiesel and Natan Sharansky, agree. Hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish national organizations agree. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Jews (and non-Jews) in the USA and in Israel agree.
Now is the time for us to do all that we can to help ensure that President Bush also agrees that Jonathan Pollard’s 23 years in prison are more than enough.
The National Council of Young Israel is working hard to obtain clemency for Jonathan Pollard, as are many other organizations and numerous individuals. We are requesting that President Bush release Jonathan for time already served – 23 years – which is considerably longer than many others who have been convicted of spying for not just allied nations, but enemy nations as well. We encourage everyone to call, write or fax the White House daily. We urge you to ask President Bush to let Jonathan Pollard go.
This past week, I accompanied Rabbi Yonah Metzger, Chief Rabbi of Israel, and Shlomo Mostofsky, the President of the National Council of Young Israel, to Butner, North Carolina, to visit Jonathan in prison. We spent several intense hours together. We discussed his case, the situation in Israel, and the upcoming holiday of Chanukah. We experienced Jonathan’s unbelievable Emunah, his faith in G-d, and his daily sacrifices to keep kosher and do Mitzvos. We experienced his love for the Jewish people and for the land of Israel. We shared in his hope that he be reunited soon with his wife Esther in Jerusalem.
There are only a few weeks before the President completes his term in office. During these next few weeks, the White House will be considering the numerous requests for pardons and clemencies that they have received. Please call the White House daily at 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm EST, and ask the President to commute Jonathan Pollard’s prison sentence. Please add a daily prayer for Yehonatan ben Malka, Jonathan the son of Malka. It is time for Jonathan to go free, to go to Israel, to live the life still before him.
My involvement began 17 years ago, and my hope is that this chapter will soon come to a close. I pray that my next visit to Jonathan will take place in Jerusalem very soon.
EDITORS NOTE: Behind the scenes, askonim from all walks of communal life have been diligently working together in unprecedented cooperation – and using every available angle to free Jonathan Pollard. Now is your chance to stand up for the silent suffering and make a difference!!
A nationwide grass roots effort on behalf of Jonathan Pollard was officially launched one month ago. People are encouraged to click freepollardnow.com to join the effort to help set Jonathan Pollard free.
With less than two months until President George Bush leaves office, this grass roots effort is intended to remind the White House of Jonathan Pollard’s plight and to push for a commutation of his prison sentence.
Because it is critical that the White House hear from as many people as possible in the next several weeks, visitors to freepollardnow.com are urged to call, fax, and send letters to President Bush on a daily basis. The website provides contact information for the White House, a sample letter that people can fax or mail, and an online petition that will be sent to President Bush. Visitors to freepollardnow.com are reminded that just 60 seconds a day can help Jonathan Pollard go free.
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9 Responses
Rabbi Lerner, is a true Ohaiv Yisroel. His tireless efforts to free Jonathan are a testament to that.
Let us heed his call for action and re-double our efforts to assist Jonathan and others who may be deserving of pardon or clemency and who may have a realistic chance of receiving a Presidential order.
The opportunity to do the Mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyon is here for us to grab. Let us seize the moment. As Rabbi Lerner says, The Time is Now!
The comment line is closed today tomorrow and friday for the holiday but the fax line is open.
Send a fax to the President at the White House at
(202) 456-2461
what do you write on the fax???
I was afraid that this was going to happen. The Saudis are doing whatever they can to make sure that Jonathan Pollard stays in jail. They want to make sure that the Israelis never know that their “friends” the American government is spying on them and giving the information over to the Saudis. R”L!!! I think only Moshiach will be able to free Jonathan Pollard.
go to freepollard.com and there are sample letters you can download or copy.
My comments on a related post –
I can sort of understand why Pollard wasn’t pardoned. The classified information he gave to Israel really left the US with a huge security concern. How would it look if Bush pardoned someone who jeopardized US security to an unprecedented degree? We as Orthodox Jews also have to be concerned – do we want our efforts to free Pollard to be understood by the rest of the world as efforts to free someone who severely jeopardized US security? Do we want that accusation on our heads?
and a followup –
I understand the desire to do all in our control to free a fellow Jew, but I think think this has to be viewed within the broader sense. From the eyes of the (unpopular) president, is it worthwhile to leave office with this high profile security case on his shoulders? From the Orthodox community’s perspective, do we want to be viewed as giving higher priority to the plight of our own kind vs. the concern of national security? Should we approach this rationally and not emotionally?
Moe – I feel you don’t understand the issue. This is a case of Pidyon Sh’vuyim. It doesn’t have to be viewed within the broader sense. Rather, we must look at the plight of a Yid who is being held in prison much longer than he should be just because he’s a Yid. We don’t have to worry about this unpopular President’s legacy……we have to worry about a a fellow Yid!!
Dear Moe & others,
I do believe you are sincere, but the reason they should free Pollard isn’t because he is a Jew and deserves leniency, it’s because there was injustice done towards him. I believe Pollard is America’s Dreyfuss. He is and was a scapegoat for the Anti-semites of our country.
I actually posted this many times but I guess I have to keep posting it: The gov. broke the plea agreement (acc. to C. Hall -Pollards broke the agreement). Once the agreement is broken, those of us who believe in the rule of law, not what is PC for our politicians, know that Judge Williams (one of the DC Appeals Court Judges) was correct in his assertion that Pollard is entitled to relief under 28 USC, section 2255. This means in plain English he deserves a new trial. So if a person has not had a trial- the law of the land is innocent until PROVEN guilty. Stop paying attention to his guilty plea, it doesn’t mean anything acc. to American law. By falling into the trap of agreeing to the politicians, you begin to think they are doing Jews a favor if they support Pollard’s release. In actuality, this should be the litmus paper if politicians believe first in the rule of law or only doing what is PC.
You see the crux of the problem is the politicians of our generation -they have made our justice system very weak because of their liberal policies. But they don’t want to admit the truth, so they hide behind this blanket- it’s not me, it’s the Courts. The judges who ruled against Pollard deserve to be impeached. But us American Jews in our quest to always be politically correct, stand there like sheep, begging our gov. for mercy for Pollard. Pollard doesn’t deserve mercy, he deserves JUSTICE!
To Charlie,
Just because you didn’t like what I wrote doesn’t mean I’m mistaken.
First of all, I didn’t say Pollard was exactly equal to Dreyfuss- what I wrote was “Pollard is America’s Dreyfuss” -meaning the fact that he wasn’t given a trial at the begining after the plea bargain was broken, the fact that he was given a life sentence for one count of giving information to another country and the fact he wasn’t given relief under section 2255 point to injustice. I believe this injustice is due to anti-semitism.
Second of all, I wasn’t talking about individual judges if they are libs or not. I was talking about the fact that our justice system is corrupt.
I believe this corruption is due to our politicians and mainly the liberal ones.
How come not one politician has come out to say he should be pardoned because of the miscarriage of justice? Maybe they believe that being PC is more important than the rule of law. Also why acc. to you only liberal Judges can be fair? That is the job of the Judge, if he can’t do his job, he should find other employment!