Double Standard Condemns Pollard
April 28, 1997 - Sidney Zion - New York Daily NewsPassover ends tomorrow, but there is no exodus in sight for Jonathan Pollard, now serving his 12th year in federal prison for committing espionage on behalf of Israel.
The lethal wiring of the double-cross to the double standard burned Pollard with a life sentence for a crime spying for an ally that never sent anybody up the river for more than a ten-spot and seldom anything close.
Indeed, there's a guy walking the streets today who never spent a moment in the can, although charged with acts of espionage on the nose with those lodged against Pollard. He is Michael Schwartz, who as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy allegedly delivered military secrets to Saudi Arabia between 1991 and 1994.
Schwartz got the kid-glove treatment from the Navy: he pleaded guilty on a couple of charges lesser than espionage and was set free with nothing more than a "less than dishonorable" discharge.
The only news I have to offer today is that there is a Michael Schwartz. His arrest, his plea, his sentence went virtually unnoticed by the media and brought forth no attacks on the Saudis from any corner, including the White House, the State Department, the CIA, the Congress and the Jewish establishment.
Pollard became an overnight villain, a synonym for "dual loyalty", the bugaboo that has shivered American Jews since the advent of the State of Israel.
The difference? Schwartz, despite his name, is a gentile. Pollard is a Jew, who worked for Naval intelligence inside the Defense Department. Schwartz allegedly spied for our oil ally, Saudi Arabia. Pollard spied for Israel.