Pollard will not go along with letter

April 15, 1998 - David Makovsky - Ha'aretz

Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard has written a letter to Israeli Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh demanding explicit recognition that he served "the State of Israel as an agent on a covert mission." Otherwise, he wrote, the U.S. administration would regard Naveh's recent description of him as an agent sent to spy on the Americans by mistake as "a public relations exercise."

In light of Pollard's objection, a letter of implicit recognition signed by all members of the Israeli cabinet a week ago has not yet been sent to Washington. Pollard says that it will not be taken seriously and attempts to win his release will not be treated on an intergovernmental level as long as Israel presents his spying activity as unauthorized.

Jewish leaders in the United States say that they have received the same message from administration officials. They also doubt the chances of success for the Netanyahu government's attempts to mobilize the American Jewish community in support of a pardon for Pollard.