Barak Sends Israeli Soldier to Heavens;
Forgets Israeli Soldier in Hell

Jonathan Pollard Accuses Barak of Abandonment

by Itamar Eichner - Yediot Achronot - August 2, 1999
[Translated from Hebrew]

Jonathan Pollard is accusing Prime Minister Ehud Barak of abandoning him and not requesting his release from an American prison, during his recent meeting with President Clinton. According to Pollard, Barak preferred to ask Clinton to send a first Israeli astronaut into space (with the American mission next year). "Barak has turned his attention to sending an Israeli soldier to the Heavens while forgetting the Israeli soldier abandoned in Hell," said Pollard.

Pollard's attorney Larry Dub, said yesterday that on the eve of Barak's departure for Washington a golden opportunity existed to secure the release of Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in America for his activities on behalf of Israel.

According to him, Barak knew full well that that Clinton had promised the release of Pollard to the former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in return for his signature on the Wye Accords. "Barak walked into Clinton's toy store. He could have asked for and gotten whatever he wanted, but he just abandoned Pollard," Dub said.

Pollard himself said, "The minute that Barak publicly declared that my case is an internal American issue, and not part of the peace process, he buried me in prison again, for many more years." *[See Larry Dub letter to Barak.]

Dub said that there has been a deterioration in Pollard's health lately. Recently he was transported to a public hospital for a CAT-scan. The CAT-scan revealed a number of growths in his sinus cavities and throat. These growths have not been biopsied and it is not known if they are malignant.

"Jonathan Pollard's spirits are very low. He feels that all the hard work and progress that was accomplished under the Netanyahu regime has been dissipated and lost," Dub concluded. He added that the fact that Barak has completely ignored his letter of July 22, "is a bad sign that nothing has been done on this case."

In response, the Prime Minister's office stated that the Prime Minister's position is well known on the matter, and that he wishes to see Pollard released and returned home but notwithstanding this, publicizing the matter does not advance the goal of securing Pollard's release.


Justice for JP Note:

Jonathan Pollard recently stated: "We have no problem with quiet diplomacy, provided that it really occurs - and in this instance, our most credible sources indicate that it simply is not." See the full text of Jonathan Pollard's comments following the Kol Yisrael Interview with Esther Pollard.