Pollard People Esther says they are, Carol insists they aren't, and says there are no prison records to document the union, which the couple claims took place about a year and a half ago. Esther declined comment for this story. Her relations with the family have not been cordial; Jonathan has not spo- ken to his parents or sister in a year, and Carol believes Esther has asked him to cut off family contact. The family is also uncomfortable with some statements she has made, such as calling U.S. offi- cials anti-Semitic. Carol said Esther worked to have Is- rael offer Jonathan citizenship, which came through in January. This hurt his case, Carol said, because it appeared to U.S. officials that Israel was raising Pol- lard to the status of hero. A few days after citizenship was Despite these volunteers' heartfelt granted, Israeli lawyers working for the emotions, letters, leaflets and lobbying, couple sent Carol a letter, demanding they admit they have accomplished al- that she stop speaking on her brother's most nothing toward freeing their man. "My client wishes to serve you with fi- They say one of the recent complicating factors is Esther Zeitz Pollard, Pollard's nal notice that in the event that you do not cease and desist from making state- new wife. There is some question whether the ments on his case and causing damage couple is actually married. Although to the initiative to free him, he will be as an example of pidyon shvuyim, the good deed of ransoming hostages. "I asked my rabbi if Pollard fell in this cate- gory," Mr. Berman said. "He asked me if Pollard was in prison because he's Jewish or because he was doing something for the Jewish people. You could only surmise he got a life sentence with no recommendation of parole be- cause he's Jewish." Attorney Stephen Beiner of Boca Ra- ton agreed. "His punishment was meted out as a Jew," Beiner said. "It rancors all my senses. If I was in a similar situation, I too would feel compelled to help Israel." Kenneth Lasson: "The only real power the grass- roots would have now is if (there were) no dissent from American Jewry." A Complicating Factor compelled to pursue this matter through legal avenues," the letter said. Several Pollard defenders were shocked that Pollard would order his sister, who has worked tirelessly on his behalf, to shut up. But Carol said such letters won't deter her work, and so did the volunteers who support her. She believes her broth- er is lonely and frustrated and willing to try drastic methods to get out of jail. "This group goes on regardless," Carol said. 'Tye spent 10 years cultivating sup- port. HI had been as nasty, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere." Carol said she has developed numer- ous contacts on her brother's behalf in Washington, D.C., including members of Congress and the U.S. Parole Com- mission. She believes her brother will have to serve 20 years of his life sentence before he's allowed out on mandatory pa- role release. In the meantime, Carol said she plans to keep plugging away. "I continue it for my parents, who are almost 80 years old, and because he's my brother," she said. "We cannot live every day without doing this for him." Rabbi Avi Weiss, president of Amcha, The Coalition For Jewish Concerns, also continues his work for Pollard. After President Clinton announced that he won't pardon Pollard, Rabbi Weiss, known as "Pollard's rabbi," said: "It is unconscionable that the presi- dent is being shielded from the senti- ments of the people .... There's a tough election coming up in November. We'll be watching Mr. Clinton's actions in the Pollard case carefully." But even such strong words from the New York rabbi, and the thousands of letters written by volunteers worldwide, may be useless in the effort to get Pol- lard out anytime soon. "The only real power the grass-roots would have now is if it were over- whelming — en masse — no dissent from American Jewry," said Kenneth Lasson, a University of Baltimore pro- fessor who wrote a legal brief in Pollard's appeal. Clearly, that's not going to happen. But Pollard supporters still plan to write, e-mail, fax and phone, holding on to their image of an America that promises jus- tice. `This case won't go away," Mr. Lasson said, "until Pollard's released or dies in prison." ❑