Thousands Protest In Jerusalem For Pollard's Release

Ezra HaLevi - Arutz-7 News - November 25, 2005

A dramatic rally protesting the continued imprisonment of American Jew and Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard took place in Jerusalem Wednesday evening amidst new developments in the case.

According to Pollard activists, an estimated 12,000 people attended the rally, which was preceded by a human chain of handcuffed protesters carrying life-size posters of Pollard. The chain stretched from the American Consulate to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence.

Prayers for Jonathan were recited by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, with videotaped speeches in support of Jonathan by former Chief Rabbi Mordecai Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and Rabbi Mordechai Elon.

Also speaking enthusiastically for Pollard's immediate release was Azzam Azzam, the Israeli Druze held in an Egyptian prison released last year.

Pollard's wife, Esther, clearly emotionally affected by the large turnout, thanked the participants and proclaimed the event miraculous. "Twelve months are for forgetfulness," she said. "That is why we are mandated to have twelve months of mourning, to forget so that we are able to go on after the loss of a loved one. If we are made to forget in twelve months, then how natural it would have been for you to be forgotten after twelve months had passed, not just once, but 20 times over. But a miracle has occurred! Instead of forgetting, the longer you have been down, the more the people remember you, and the more they care!"

Jonathan Pollard himself made an appearance at the rally in the form of a letter read by his wife. "The State of Israel won its freedom in 1948 but has yet to win its independence," Pollard wrote. "After overcoming the trials of 5,766 years of Jewish history, here is what Israel looks like after only half a century of statehood: The Israeli political establishment has no shame, no red lines, and little concern for the security of its citizens. Israeli captives languish in foreign prisons for years -- in some cases for decades -- while Arab murderers and terrorists are routinely freed from Israeli jails, only to murder again."

The letter also spoke about the case of Angie Kielcynski, an Israeli who was appointed by Ariel Sharon to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in 1985 and was exposed as an American spy in 2001 after he sued the CIA for pension and benefits for his work from 1985 until 1991.

The Pollards believe that Kielcynski exposed Pollard to the U.S. government. Pollard was arrested in 1985 and later convicted of passing classified information to a U.S. ally.

Israel's Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it had accepted a suit brought by the Pollards regarding Kielcynski. The suit seeks to compel the Israeli government to arrest and interrogate Kielcynski, who moved back to Israel in 2001 and has never been arrested. The hope is that Kielcynski's arrest could lead to a spy swap with the U.S. for Pollard.