Facts Page Addendum: The Mercenary Issue

Pollard sought out the Israelis and volunteered to give, not sell, information to Israel about nuclear, chemical and biological weapons under construction by Iraq and others for use against Israel. Pollard worked for six months without receiving any payment from the Israelis, and never did ask for any money in exchange for his services. He was eventually persuaded to accept small sums of money only at the instigation of the Israelis. This was an effort on the part of the Israelis, common in the espionage world, to assert greater control over an ideologically-motivated agent.

Much of the money Pollard was given went for operational expenses, and no evidence was ever presented that he benefited personally from any of the funds provided by Israel. (Pollard actually went into debt to cover these expenses.) Assertions to the contrary by prosecutors and biased commentators are lies which have been purposely disseminated to undermine Pollard's credibility as a witness to the undeclared Intelligence embargo instituted against Israel by Admiral Bobby Ray Inman and Caspar Weinberger.

The Government of Israel has confirmed to the U.S., in private communications, the ideological bona fides of Pollard's motives. These bona fides were also confirmed by numerous polygraph tests given to him by the F.B.I. (These tests, it should be noted, were "lost" by the Government days before Pollard was sentenced, and have not been found since.)

The sentencing judge, Aubrey Robinson, who obviously was not sympathetic to Pollard, recognized and acknowledged that Pollard was an ideologue and not a mercenary. This is made clear by the fact that Robinson did not fine Pollard, a penalty typically imposed on those who have spied for mercenary reasons.

Finally, on May 12, 1998, Israel formally acknowledged Jonathan Pollard was an official Israeli agent. This fact wipes out any doubt about Jonathan Pollard's motives. Being an official agent is, by definition, the opposite of being a mercenary: one who acts solely for profit.