Inside The Pollard Case

In 1984, for over a year and a half, Jonathan Jay Pollard, a Jewish American Naval Intelligence Analyst, passed volumes of classified information to the State of Israel. When Pollard’s betrayal was exposed, it created a firestorm of controversy and tension between Washington and Tel Aviv – why would Israel spy on the United States, its greatest supporter?

According to some American officials, Pollard’s actions amounted to one of the worst intelligence security leaks in US history. Pollard’s defense was that he was merely supplying Israel, an American ally, with information that the US government was obliged to provide under treaty.

In 1987, Pollard agreed to cooperate with authorities in exchange for a lighter sentence. However, Pollard was shocked and felt betrayed when he was sentenced to the maximum term – life in prison.

Pollard, whose health is deteriorating, has now served 28 years – two decades longer than any other spy who worked for an American ally. In fact, he has spent longer in jail than those who spied for America’s enemies. Originally, it was said that his revelations to Israel endangered American agents in the former Soviet Union, but all the information emerging out of the Soviet Union and declassified information suggest that his only sin was to tell Israel secrets about Iraq’s nuclear aspirations – secrets that should have been shared with Israel in any event.

The campaign to free the ailing 58 year old has recently gained momentum. In Israel, both President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have made formal appeals to US President Barack Obama to release Pollard. And in the United States, a growing number of prominent Americans have joined the call for clemency, including the former CIA director R. James Woolsey, former secretaries of state Henry A. Kissinger and George P. Shultz, and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel. Despite the flurry of media coverage surrounding the issue during his March 2013 visit to Israel, President Obama stated that he has “no plans for releasing Jonathan Pollard immediately.” This travesty of justice has gone on too long. Free Pollard now.