We Told You So!
Update: October 2, 1998
The following clip from the JTA confirms exactly what the Pollards reported in our SLEIGHT OF HAND DESIGNED TO DECEIVE PUBLIC news release of October 1, 1998. Namely that the issue of Jonathan Pollard's release was NOT raised in a SERIOUS manner by Prime Minister Netanyahu in his meeting with President Clinton this week and consequently no agreement to release him was reached:
Israeli and American officials denied a report that President Clinton agreed on steps that would lead to the release of Jonathan Pollard from prison, where he is serving a life sentence for spying for Israel. WhiteHouse spokesman Mike McCurry said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefly raised the issue during a private meeting earlier this week with Clinton, who "accepted the expression of concern made by the prime minister, but indicated that there was no change in our views on the matter and certainly no agreement."The Israeli Government's calculated leak to Yediot Achronot reported that Pollard was a high priority item on the Prime Minister's agenda with the President (not just a "brief" mention) and implied that a deal had been concluded with the Americans to release Jonathan Pollard pending Israel's fulfillment of the next redeployment. This was nothing more than a cynical attempt to sweeten the bitter pill of redeployment for the Israeli public.Source: JTA October 1, 1998
This same tactic was used by the Government just prior to the withdrawal from Hebron. False assurances were given both tacitly and implicitly that Pollard would be released as part of the deal made in the Hebron accords. As soon as the ink was dry on the accords, Pollard was forgotten again.
This recycled ploy to defuse opposition to the next redeployment makes the cynical presumption that the Israeli people are gullible enough to keep buying the same bill of goods and that the government does not have to deliver. It is particularly damaging to the case for Jonathan Pollard's release that the Israeli Government continues to broadcast such callous indifference to his fate by playing these games with his life. The Americans have not missed the message.
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