Jonathan Pollard's Letter to A Member of Knesset - A Case Study

J4JP Release - August 26, 2004

J4JP is releasing this letter by Jonathan Pollard as a case study of 2 decades of dealing with Israeli Government officials. Although it was written to a specific Member of Knesset (Mickey Eitan - Likud) in response to the MK's request for a prison visit, it reflects Jonathan's experience with Israeli officials for the last 20 years.

Despite the passage of time, Israeli officials continue to treat a prison visit with Jonathan as if it were an end in itself. While such visits may provide good domestic PR for the Ministers and MKs, they are of no avail to Jonathan if they are not followed up by intensive and meaningful action.

To: MK Mickey Eitan
From: Jonathan Pollard

VIA FACSIMILE

August 19, 2004

Re: Visit request for September 27, 2004

Dear Mickey,

Please help me to understand why you want to meet with me again.

If you can tell me what you have accomplished in the year that has elapsed since our last meeting; or if you can tell me one single promise you made to me and have kept after all of our meetings, then I might understand why you would ask to meet with me again.

Let me refresh your memory. Among the things you promised, but failed to carry out:

1. You have not secured a clear government policy on my case (to enable MKs to advocate credibly and accurately on my behalf)

2. You have not secured implementation of my shevui (captivity) status (to guarantee my rights and the government's obligations to me --- after 2 decades in prison!)

3. You have not secured the participation of the Ambassador and regular prison visits from him (to raise the profile of my case and to provide immediate relief and assistance.)

4. You have not spoken out publicly as you promised on a number of issues -- especially with regard to Sharon's trashing of the Knesset Petition to President Bush with 112 MKs signatures

5. You have not gotten the Knesset Petition personally into Bush's hands, and have not lobbied for it.

6. You have done nothing to alleviate my medical, legal, or in-prison plight, and nothing to alleviate the severe privation my wife is suffering and her lack of medical support.

7. You have not acted on a dozen other initiatives that I spoke with you privately about, on more than one occasion, such as the initiative to engage the Mossad to resolve outstanding issues; to return the Master List of documents to the US and to have the Government finally submit a truthful affidavit.

8. You have not lobbied or advocated for me. My sources indicate that there is absolutely no evidence in Israel of in the US of any honest, intensive initiative on your part on my behalf.

It is troubling, Mickey, that you have never invested for me, even a fraction of the energy and intensity that you personally expended to free Marcus Klingberg (the traitor who hurt Israel) from prison.

On the other hand, here is what you have done over the last year:

1. You drafted a bogus, self-serving bill.
   You attempted to force a counterproductive and damaging "Pollard bill" through Knesset, despite my strong opposition. You completely ignored my draft of an effective law. Instead you drafted one that was completely self-serving, designed to curry public favor while maintaining the status quo for the Government and keeping me buried alive. Instead of cooperating with me, you forced me to use my limited resources to fight to kill this bill to kill it in committee.

2. You acted as a fig leaf for PM Sharon.
   Every time you were faced with a choice between helping me by speaking out and telling the truth or remaining silent to cover for Sharon, you covered for Sharon. For example, to this day, you have never publicly told the truth (as you promised to) about how Sharon thrust the MKs petition back at you and refused to take it to Bush. After you shared the true story with the Knesset Lobby (never expecting the media to get a whiff of it) you then buried it. When you buried the truth, you buried me.

3. You resigned from the Knesset Lobby.
   After doing so much to make it APPEAR publicly as if you were helping me, but in fact doing nothing, you then publicly resigned as head of the Knesset Lobby, with the attendant publicity benefiting no one but you.

In light of all of the above Mickey, why you want to meet with me again?

If I were a cynic, I might suggest that perhaps you just want the free trip to America during the Knesset recess. A Knesset enactment now provides that any MK who wishes to visit me, the Knesset will pay his/her way. As you are aware, this provision was intended to increase support for me, not to encourage freebies. I would hate to think that that is your motivation.

In conclusion long: as we are dealing with facts and past performance I see no reason to meet again. If you feel otherwise, you are free to make your case in writing and I promise to read it with interest.

Stay well.

Jonathan