Esther Pollard Responds to The Wall Street Journal

March 4, 1996
Pollard: A Plea For Equal Justice - Letters to the Editor

In response to your January 26 article "Israel Steps Up Efforts in Pollard Affair":

Equal justice is the issue that lies at the heart of the Pollard case. Jonathan Pollard is serving his 11th year of a life sentence for one count of passing classified information to an ally. This is the longest sentence in the U.S. ever meted out to anyone convicted of a similar offense. It was the result of a broken plea agreement and the interference of former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.

For 10 years, American officials have continued to hide behind a veil of secrecy, alleging via the media that Jonathan Pollard did serious harm to U.S. national security. Mr. Pollard has never been indicted for any of these unsubstantiated allegations, nor will he ever be indicted. The Gulf War has come and gone, showing America's role in arming Iraq and making it clear why Jonathan Pollard risked his life to warn Israel.

President Clinton has strong reasons for commuting Jonathan Pollard's sentence immediately to time served, including: a broken plea agreement; a grossly disproportionate sentence; Mr. Pollard's deep remorse; and a last request of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Plus the fact that the U.S. is required to administer equal justice for all its citizens.

Israel has made Jonathan Pollard a citizen and accepts full responsibility for him and for his actions, now and in the future. Between close friends and reliable allies, that should be enough.

Esther Pollard