Kurtzer Confronted on Pollard Issue at Israel Center Dinner

Israel National News - May 18, 2004

(IsraelNN.com) United States Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, handled himself well when Jerusalem attorney Baruch Ben-Yosef stood up during his address, waving a picture of Jonathan Pollard. Ben-Yosef, a long-time activist, called on the American diplomat to respond, to address the issue of Pollard who is lingering in an American federal prison.

Ben-Yosef's outburst was met with a round of applause from a significant number of the 600 guests attending the first annual banquet of the Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Israel Center. The dinner, held in the Jerusalem Renaissance Hotel, was intentionally set for tonight to coincide with Jerusalem Day, when we commemorate the liberation of the Holy City from Jordanian occupation in the June 1967 Six Day War.

Kurtzer waited out the crowd and continued with his address after the applause subsided.