Pollard Letter: Sharon Govt. is Lying About Funding Me and My Attorneys

Justice4JP Release - December 4, 2003

In a December 3rd letter to Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon, Jonathan Pollard wrote:

"... Esther and I have received reports from certain Israeli officials that you have reassured them that their concern for me and my wife is unfounded, that my wife and I are receiving money from the Government of Israel, and that my American attorneys, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, are being paid by the Government of Israel. Mr. Maimon, while it is clear that you are making these false statements on behalf of Prime Minister Sharon, only a person who has no moral conscience could lie so blatantly!"

The full text of Jonathan's letter follows:

To: Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon From: Jonathan Pollard
December 3, 2003 - via Facsimile

Re: Your meeting with my attorney, Larry Dub, December 2, 2003.

Shalom Mr. Maimon:

I was appalled to learn that the reason you offered my attorney for your failure be in touch with me all these months was because you are "not sure that Larry Dub is really my attorney."

That claim is not only ridiculous, it is also no excuse for the complete failure of the Government to act on my behalf ever since you assumed responsibility some 6 months ago!

Your questioning Mr. Dub's legitimacy as my legal counsel is not only grossly inappropriate but also deeply offensive. Moreover, I am dumbfounded that you were not reassured by MK Mickey Eitan, who was present at the meeting yesterday.

Even a basic familiarity with my case reveals that Mr. Dub has been involved in my case from the time I was arrested in 1985. Moreover, it is well known and a documented part of the record that he has been my attorney formally and officially since 1994. He became my attorney of record at that time, when I refused to cooperate with the attorneys hand-picked and paid-for by the Government of Israel who were sabotaging my interests, while serving the interests of the Government -- just as you are now doing by questioning the right of Mr. Dub to act on my behalf.

In summary: your claim that there is any doubt as to whether Mr. Larry Dub is my legal representative, and whether he is authorized to speak on my behalf and to act on my behalf is simply not credible. It is spurious and disingenuous - obviously motivated by considerations that have nothing to do with truth or the interests of my case.

On a related matter: recently Esther and I have received reports from certain Israeli officials that you have reassured them that their concern for me and my wife is unfounded, that my wife and I are receiving money from the Government of Israel, and that my American attorneys, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, are being paid by the Government of Israel. Mr. Maimon, while it is clear that you are making these false statements on behalf of Prime Minister Sharon, only a person who has no moral conscience could lie so blatantly!

As you well know, I have not received a cent from the Government of Israel, neither has my wife, nor any of my attorneys. Not now, not in the past, not ever. For you to claim otherwise is nothing but a lie.

It is apparent to me and to my legal team that your involvement in my case for the last 6 months has brought no advantage, and not the slightest progress; only further obfuscation, increased stagnation and outright lies. You and your so-called committee (AKA "chevra keddishe") have ignored every request we have made for help and assistance. Every suggestion we have made has been rejected, and not a single initiative to advance my release has been implemented.

I see no reason for this charade to continue. If you have any sense of honor, you will resign at once from handling my case, disband the "chevra keddishe", and hand full responsibility back to Prime Minister Sharon, who is the only one with the authority and the standing to bring me home without any further delay.

As I begin my 19th year in prison on behalf of the State of Israel, I have earned the right to demand that the Prime Minister live up to his obligation to secure my immediate release - in full accord with previous commitments by the United States, which Mr. Sharon himself witnessed - to bring me home at once, in time to light the Chanukah candles of freedom, this month, at home in Jerusalem!

(signed)
Jonathan Pollard