SPECIAL COMMENTARY
-:`Arwatareini00010410, 741111
2.2%0411 01 01 0
In Search Of Mercy
House said Clinton would not be
Philadelphia
granting clemency to Pollard. It is now
n the last weeks of the Clinton
15 years since Pollard leapt into the
presidency, a number of prison
nightmares
of American Jewry when
inmates and a few ex-cons got a
he committed espionage on
nice holiday present:
behalf of the State of Israel.
executive clemency from the
outgoing commander-in-
Myths And Stories
chief.
Despite the accumulation
Among those to receive
of myths and stories that
pardons were former U.S.
have attached themselves to
Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-
the Pollard case, the facts
Ill., who served time for his
are simple. Pollard was serv-
part in the House banking
ing in the Pentagon as a
scandal, as well as for filching
U.S. Navy intelligence ana-
federal property.
JONATHAN S. lyst when. he was recruited
On the same day that Ros-
TOBIN
by Israeli operatives to give
tenkowski got his gift from
Special
to
them secret material that
the White House, two female
the Jewish News
they and Pollard felt the
drug dealers were similarly
U.S. Defense Department
the beneficiaries of Clinton's
was unfairly holding back
largess.
from Israel. Much of this appears to
They were let out of jail because
have involved Soviet weapons being
the president was outraged that they
shipped to Arab countries, as well as
had received longer sentences than
material relating to Arab capabilities
their criminal bosses. Indeed, no
for weapons of mass destruction.
injustice — even a disproportionate
But once caught, Pollard was quick-
sentence given to a person who was
ly
—
and cynically — abandoned by
admittedly guilty of the crime — was
both his Israeli handlers and the Israeli
too trivial to be assessed and righted
government. He accepted a plea bar-
by the president.
gain, but then, astonishingly, the U.S.
But amid all the forgiving, there is,
government reneged on the deal. After
apparently, one man for whom the
former U.S. Secretary of Defense Cas-
government of the United States can-
par Weinberger sent a memo to the
not find mercy. His name is Jonathan
sentencing judge that accused the spy
Pollard.
of far worse crimes than he was
On Dec. 22, the Jerusalem Post
responsible for, Pollard was sentenced
reported that sources inside the White
to life in prison.
This was far more than any person
Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor
who spied for a friendly country had
of the Jewish Exponent in Philadlephia.
gotten or would get in the years since.
He can be reached via e-mail at
Though no serious evidence has ever
tobin@jewishexponent.com
I
LETTERS
been brought forward to prove that
anything Pollard did actually harmed
American security, the U.S. intelli-
gence community is determined to see
that Pollard never sees the light of day
again. They have reinforced this cam-
paign with bits of misinformation
about Israel selling Pollard's informa-
tion to the Soviets that have been
repeatedly leaked to journalists, such
as former New York Times writer Sey-
mour Hersh, who has dutifully regur-
gitated these lies in forums such as the
New Yorker.
The truth is, Pollard appears to
have been a scapegoat for much of the
CIA's own incompetence. On this
issue, Pollard supporters point to the
case of Aldrich Ames, the notorious
Soviet spy who served as head of the
CIA's counterintelligence division dur-
ing the period when Pollard allegedly
was messing up U.S. security.
According to former Senate Intelli-
gence Committee staffer Angelo
Codevilla, the damage that the Penta-
gon blamed on Pollard was caused by
Ames. In fact, Codevilla claimed last
year in a Wall Street Journal article that
it was Ames himself who wrote the
damage-assessment report about Pol-
lard after he was caught!
Foolish Supporters
Refuting the lies about Pollard has
been difficult. But unfortunately,
those who seek his release have often
been as foolish as his opponents have
been malevolent.
The constant refrain that Pollard is
an American Alfred Dreyfus is . ridicu-
lous. The difference between the case
of Pollard and that of the French Jew-
ish captain who was falsely convicted
of being a German spy is stark.
Dreyfus was innocent of the
charges against him, while Pollard was
plainly guilty of spying, even if we
accept that he did not act to harm the
United States.
Even worse, the conspiracy theorists
have used the Pollard case as a hook
for floating charges about every rumor
— substantive as well as bogus —
about American foreign policy in the
1980s.
Time For Mercy
Until all the files are unsealed, we will
never know the complete truth about
the value to Israel — or the United
States — of the information Jonathan
Pollard gave his spymasters. Yet Pol-
lard must not be portrayed as a hero.
His crime undermined the alliance
between the United States and Israel,
and wrongly casts a shadow over the
loyalty of American Jews working in
the Pentagon even today.
But after 15 long years in prison —
as much if not more time than most
murderers serve in this country —
Pollard has suffered more than
enough. Nor, after all this time, can it
be alleged with credibility that he
poses even the most remote danger to
U.S. security. By any objective stan-
dard, he is deserving of clemency.
The only reason to keep him in
prison is the intelligence community's
vendetta.
With all of the major players in this
CLEMENCY on page 30
LETTERS from page 27
nurses and aides both at Providence
Hospital in Southfield and the Universi-
ty of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Their endless diligence and caring made
an insufferable situation endurable.
While I was at U-M in August,
receiving my final dose of chemo and
subsequent transplant, Sheri Devries was
also a patient battling the horrendous
side effects of her debilitating disease.
Her remarkable parents, Barbara and
Larry Traison, took the time to visit me.
Their upbeat and positive attitude pro-
vided me with the ability to deal with
my sadness and isolation. I am grateful
to them and to all of the others respon-
sible for my being where I am today. I
hope that Sheri's family will obtain
solace from their cherished memories of
such a gallant and beautiful woman.
Susan Klinger Radner
Farmington Hills.
Please Consider
Organ Donation
I just want to thank the Jewish News
for bringing to the forefront the issue
of organ donation ("Living Legacies,"
Dec. 29, page 10).
I, like all the others mentioned in
the past two issues, are living proof of
the importance of organ donation. I
hope that everyone will sit down with
their family members and make their
wishes known now, before it's too late.
Discussion of organ donation is not
talking about death, but rather about
the gift of life.
Dana Burnstein
West Bloomfield
To Know David
Was To Love Him
to remember some of the tributes
that were offered at the time of
Ambassador David B. Hermelin's
death ("Forever Ours," Dec. 1, page
6).
I want the article to remind my
now 6-year-old son Sebastian of the
special friend he thought he found
in Ambassador Hermelin, the man
wh-o did "real magic" tricks before
his very eyes, sat him down at a
piano a few times and inspired him
to get banging away (he's now giving
rudimentary recitals), and most of
all, the man who exuded generosity
Long after the testimonials have dis-
appeared from the Internet, I want
LETTERS on page 30
1/5
2001
29