Pollard Press Conference

The Jewish Press, December 3, 1999

At a press conference to be held on December 5th, 11:00 a.m., at the headquarters of Hillary Clinton's Campaign Committee at 450 7th Avenue, between 34th and 35th Streets in Manhattan, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) will bring rabbis and leaders together to call on Hillary Clinton to intercede and accomplish justice for Jonathan Pollard.

"Jonathan Pollard is not a pawn in the peace process, and he's not a pawn for the State Department. He has served the longest-running sentence of any spy convicted of a similar crime. His crime is not treason, which carries the life sentence that he is currently serving," said Hikind.

Jonathan Pollard wrongfully passed top secret documentation to Israel, 'a long-standing U.S. ally. But the life sentence he received has been regarded as a miscarriage of justice. Pollard has entered his 16th year of a term that has never before or since been imposed on an individual who spied for an ally.

Hikind continued, "There is no precedent that justifies the 'secret' evidence upon which the judge made his ruling and issued his verdict. We implore Hillary to impress her husband to release Jonathan Pollard to address this inequity."

"Hillary has explained away supporting a Palestinian State. She has explained away her reaction to Suha Arafat's vitriol. But she cannot explain away Jonathan Pollard. Will she do the right thing and intercede on his behalf?

"On December 5, I will assemble with the religious and lay leadership to demand resolution of this injustice We must remedy this assault on equity and due process here and now. Jonathan Pollard should not endure another year in prison. Candidacy comes with responsibilities and accountability, and candidates must deal responsibly with issues that concern their prospective constituents. These :are the issues that are important to us. How important are they to Hillary'?"

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