Gore seeking to reassure voters on Charitable Choice

The Forward - January l4, 2000

[

Justice4JP Note:

The Justice Department is part of the problem in the Pollard case - not a part of the solution. Jonathan Pollard's violated plea agreement, the grossly disproportionate sentence he received without benefit of trial, and his sentencing on the basis of secret evidence which he has never been allowed to challenge in a court of law, are just a partial list of the unjust treatment Jonathan Pollard has received at the hands of the Justice Department. So, when Presidential candidate Al Gore facilely insists that he will hand the Pollard case back to the Justice Department to "fix", he is not only ducking the issue, but also handing the hen over to the fox who is in charge of the hen house.

See the list of names of Jewish "leaders" below - this is a partial listing of all the Jewish "leaders" who attended the meeting. Not a single one protested Gore's ridiculous stand on Pollard. Not a single challenged Gore, not for Pollard's sake, but for the sake of equal justice for the Jewish community. Relevant excerpt follows:]

Vice President Gore brought his presidential campaign to a group of New York Jewish leaders this week, looking ahead to the Empire State March 7 primary

The meeting, which was closed to the press, nevertheless offered a glimpse into how Mr. Gore intends to court the Jewish community as his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination enters a critical phase

In response to a question, Mr. Gore said that clemency for convicted Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, is not an issue appropriate for discussion in his campaign Mr. Gore (further) said that if elected, his administration would re-examine the issue, but that this re-examination would take place through the appeals process in place at the Justice Department, as opposed to a separate White House initiative..

Among those who attended the meeting, which was held Monday at the new York Sheraton Hotel, were:

• the editor-in-chief of the New Republic, Martin Peretz
• the executive vice-chairman of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Lawrence Rubin
• the executive director of the American Jewish Congress, Phil Baum
• a former congresswoman, Elizabeth Holtzman
• an activist from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Bernice Manocherian
• the chairman of the Westchester county Democratic Party, David Alpert
• Democratic political activist, Victor Kovner
• a Long Island public relations man, Robert Zimmerman
• the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman
• an official of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Menachem Genack
• Rep. Gary Ackerman
• Rep. Nita Lowey
• Rep. Eliot Engel