Where is Jonathan Pollard?

Israel National News - Arutz-7- March 5, 2003

As reported on Arutz-7 following Ariel Sharon's speech last week introducing his new government, the Prime Minister promised that he would work to free "our MIAs, prisoners of war, and Azzam Azzam" - but did not mention another Israeli citizen imprisoned abroad, Jonathan Pollard.

Former Prisoner of Zion Yosef Mendlevitch told Arutz-7 yesterday that for the past four months, "a group of us has been holding pro-Pollard vigils outside the American Consulate and the Prime Minister's home in Jerusalem. As the war with Iraq approaches, we should remember that just as the U.S. Secretary of State [Colin Powell] released secret CIA documents in order to convince the UN Security Council - this is exactly what Pollard did 18 years ago. He gave information to Israel about the various preparations being made for chemical and biological weapons programs in Iraq - information that for some reason the US government wanted to keep quiet, and therefore shut him up in jail. The time has come to do justice. We chiefly blame Prime Minister Sharon for his abandonment of this Prisoner of Zion."

Mendlevitch said that the fact that Sharon left Pollard out of his speech is "consistent with the line of previous Prime Ministers, starting with Yitzchak Shamir who gave the order not to allow Pollard to take refuge in the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Since then this policy has continued, up until the time he was recognized as an Israeli agent - but this was only externally; in truth, we know that the Israeli government has taken no concrete actions to free him, except for Netanyahu in Wye Plantation.

Once again, Arik Sharon is ceding Israeli national interests for doubtful political interests, at the expense of something which is certain - namely,the obligation to redeem every Jewish captive, which is an absolute."

Mendlevitch had harsh words for the American Jewish public. Asked about his own connections in high places in the U.S. - "after all, when you were freed from Russian imprisonment after 11 years, you even met with Pres. Reagan" - Mendlevitch said, "The American Jewish community at the time helped obtain my freedom, but this time, it is a mark of shame for the American Jewish community that it has abandoned their brother. They have influence, but they are ignoring him. There is only a small group of rabbis who are working for him, but the World Jewish Congress and the Conference of Presidents and the rest of the establishment are afraid of being accused of dual loyalty... This is another Dreyfuss trial, but the difference is that then non-Jews arose to help, [while now many Jews are ignoring it]. Pollard is truly a hero of all humanity, in that he warned of dangers that were threatening the entire world."


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