Hadassah Calls on President to Free Jonathan Pollard


HADASSAH
THE WOMEN'S ZIONIST ORGANIZATION

50 West 58 Street
New York City, New York 10019
Tel: 212 355 7900 Fax 212 303 8282

August 31, 1994

President Bill Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the national Board of Hadassah and the 385,000 members of Hadassah in the United States and Puerto Rico, I again most respectfully urge that you, on humanitarian grounds, commute the sentence of Jonathan J. Pollard to time served.

Jonathan Pollard has been in prison for nearly nine years, since November 21, 1985. At that time he was arrested; he later pleaded guilty to the charge of transmitting national security information to a foreign government.

There is no attempt on my part to justify Mr. Pollard's crime of espionage; it cannot ever be justified. He committed a serious violation of the law, which may have severely compromised American intelligence and national security. We firmly believe, however, that his actions would save lives in Israel, a country he also loves, and one which was and is allied to our own United States.

As we approach the start of the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, we turn to you for a singular act of mercy. Out of sympathy for a fellow human being we ask you to review again the case of Jonathan Pollard for the purpose of commuting his sentence to time served.

With our warm good wishes and heartfelt thanks.

Sincerely Yours,

(Signed)
Deborah Kaplan
NATIONAL PRESIDENT