The Remorse Issue

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In May of 1996 just prior to the Israeli elections, Esther Pollard met with then Prime Minster Shimon Peres. He told her that President Clinton had indicated to him that Jonathan had not expressed sufficient remorse, and he asked her to secure from her husband yet one more statement of remorse. She protested that Jonathan's remorse was a matter of record and that this was just a pretext. The Prime Minister agreed, but asked her to get the new statement of remorse from Jonathan nevertheless.

The statement was written by Jonathan the same day, and delivered to the Prime Minister within 48 hours of the request so that he could personally deliver it to Mr. Clinton. In spite of the hand-delivered statement of remorse that Mr. Clinton received from Mr. Peres, the President later rejected the clemency for Jonathan using the same old specious excuses, including his lack of remorse.

Years later, in her run for New York Senate, Hillary Clinton parroted her husband's excuses, and used the remorse issue as one of her many reasons for not taking a position on the Pollard case. Mrs. Clinton's only reason for opposing the release of the FALN terrorists was that they had not shown remorse. An honest look at the record would shows that the one criterion that Mrs. Clinton insists on in matters of clemency - remorse - has more than amply been met in the Pollard case.

In point of fact, Jonathan Pollard has expressed remorse numerous times, in a variety of forums, and in different mediums, orally and in writing. What follows is a sampling of his expressions of remorse and some articles that address the issue.

Articles

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