Letter to Pres. Obama by Families of Victims of Arab Terror: Free Jonathan Pollard

Source: Almagor Terror Victims Association - April 6, 2014

The following is the text of a letter sent to President Barak Obama by families of victims of terror and members of Almagor - Terror Victims Association:

April 5, 2014

To the President of the United States,
President Barak Obama

Dear Mr. President:

We are bereaved families whose loved ones were killed and maimed by Palestinian terrorists who were freed from Israeli prisons because of pressure by the American government which hoped to further peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. President, we hope you can find time during your pressing schedule to think about the very trying times we have suffered over the past months, fearing that the killers who murdered our loved ones would go free and become heroes of terror. Every day of the year, we suffer with the horrible memory of the murder of our dearest family members, often in the most cruel and cold-blooded fashion, simply because they were Israelis living in the Jewish homeland. The idea of seeing these killers and criminals go free gave our families no rest, and we never could justify their release as a bargaining chip to sustain peace negotiations, something which has no moral or legal credence.

Driven to our wits end, we were forced to take to the streets to demonstrate against the release from prison of killers who took the lives of our loved ones. At first, our efforts did not succeed, and 80 terrorists were released and given a hero's welcome by Abu Mazzen and the wild crowds that awaited the prisoners when they got off the bus, lifting them into the air like sports heroes. Our hearts were once again ripped apart as we watched these killers honored and interviewed on television, as they proudly described how they brutally killed their victims, our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children, further inciting the young generation of Palestinians to follow in their footsteps.

We hope the fourth release of terrorists will not come to pass and be yet another victory for terror. During this past week, we heard talk about Jonathan Pollard being released in exchange for Israel's agreement to proceed with this fourth release. This news was heartening to all the people of Israel, and to us, that something positive might come out of our suffering, and that after almost 30 years of confinement, Pollard might be allowed to come home. We feel that even if this long-awaited pardon came about as part of a deal to keep peace negotiations continuing, that it is also based on American foundations of humanitarianism and justice, as many former, high-ranking American officials have openly stated, including former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, as wells as former heads of the CIA and FBI, and U.S. Senators and judges, who all have noted that while Pollard committed a very serious offense, he has already paid dearly for his crime with his unusually long prison term, and that his health is failing each year.

Mr. President, with a broken heart, we are turning to you and asking you - please release Pollard, in the name of justice, compassion and humanity.

If all the requests and considerations weren't enough, please do this as a gesture to us, families who lost those most dear to them, and who were forced to see the murderers of their precious ones freed - so that the end of the Pollard tragedy will offer them at least a tiny sliver of consolation.

With esteemed honor, and with broken hearts,

Families of Israeli victims of terror:
Dalia Ohana, Senfir Noy, Alon Harris, Bella Bakar
Naftali Almakis, Yulia Levitt, Shoshana Shokar
Leah Federing, Magid Kador, Orna Amrini, Gila Malko
Naftali Ben Yair, Rivka Rottenberg, Moshe Davisht
Merav Osher, Yanav Eliahu, Yaron Friedman
Haim Shalem, Tali Getnoy, Fad Kenan, Gavriel Zandani
Moli Biton


  • See Also: Hebrew Text: Letter to President Obama by Families of Victims of Arab Terror: Free Jonathan Pollard (PDF)

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