Media Release - October 12, 1999

Pollard to File Response to Government in Israel Supreme Court Today
Attorney Asks Court For Emergency Hearing

JERUSALEM - In light of Jonathan Pollard's urgent situation as he enters his 15th year of a life sentence, Pollard's attorney, Larry Dub has made an emergency trip to the United States to consult with his client.

While Dub is consulting with Pollard, his partner Baruch Ben-Yosef, will file a request for an emergency hearing in Supreme Court this morning October 12, 1999. Pollard's request to the Court incudes his 11 page response to the Government's reply brief which the Pollard team considers "an insult to the intelligence" and an "affront to the moral conscience of the State of Israel". Esther Pollard, wife of Jonathan Pollard, will accompany Ben-Yosef to court today on behalf of her husband.

Excerpt From Pollard's Petition to be filed in Supreme Court Today:

Conclusion: A 15 Year Old Injustice that Screams to the Heavens
Sets A Dangerous Precedent That Threatens All Those Who Serve the State

...The speedy rescue of an Israeli agent which was promised to the petitioner, and which should have occurred in a relatively short time as is usual, has already dragged on for 15 years. The petitioner's long and drawn out incarceration has set a dangerous precedent whereby the Government allows itself to pick and choose which agent/soldier will be immediately rescued and which agent/ soldier will be left in the field to languish indefinitely.

The respondent's deliberate evasion of his responsibility to the petitioner, particularly in light of the fact that the petitioner has already served 15 years in prison as an Israeli agent, is an both an affront to the moral conscience of the State of Israel, and its badge of shame. It is now up to the honored Supreme Court to correct this distorted and immoral precedent that threatens all those who serve the State, and who rely on the State to rescue them in time of need.