Nadia Matar's Arrest Report Regarding Jonathan Pollard

Justice4JPnews - Erev Yom Kippur 5768 - September 21, 2007

Below, excerpted from a full report detailing her recent arrest, is what Nadia Matar, Chairperson of Women in Green, and a long-time friend of the Pollard case wrote with regard to Jonathan Pollard.

"The cell is tiny. Two stone bunk beds are the only 'furniture'. There is no place to really stand. One must stay in his bed. Behind a door is a toilet, sink and a shower. The officer had told us that cameras were filming the cell but not the toilet. The main problem with the cell was that there was no air. It was just suffocating. We each got a mattress and two blankets. A Jewish woman in her fifties was in the cell. She did not talk much. The strong light stayed on the entire night making it impossible to sleep. Luckily they allowed me to take my siddur (prayer book) into the cell.Trying to fall asleep, all I was thinking about was Jonathan Pollard. Here I had been in jail just for a few hours and I was already getting restless and bored and felt like climbing the walls....how could Jonathan bear it? Twenty two years in jail. Twenty two years. Day and night. Day and night. And whatever conditions we were in, were probably luxury conditions compared to what Jonathan has. And despite all that, Jonathan stays upbeat, full of optimism and love of Eretz Israel - giving us strength. I promised myself that the moment I would get out I would remind everyone to act on behalf of Jonathan's release, to pray for his health, and to do whatever we can to bring Jonathan home."

J4JP commends the uncanny accuracy of Nadia's suppositions. To this day, Jonathan struggles daily to survive, in ill health, in a harsh and violent environment; and stifling, hot, cramped, tiny, airless, living conditions. Jonathan's amazing faith, his ability to transcend the worst afflictions and torture, is miraculous, but has cost him dearly. No one can go on forever under such circumstances; every human being ultimately has limits. J4JP deeply appreciates that Nadia always uses every opportunity to support Jonathan and to call his desperate plight to public attention.

J4JP Background on Nadia Matar's Arrest Report:

Nadia Matar was arrested Wednesday evening [19 September] after a peaceful protest outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's residence. Police gave no reason for the arrest. Matar requested a moment to call her lawyer to find out what her rights were and the police responded by threatening that if she did not come with them at once, "[she] would be responsible for the violence that would occur." When Matar did not jump to immediate attention, the police beat the friends and supporters who were surrounding her and then brutally and violently took custody of Nadia.

Nadia spent the night in jail. The next day she was taken before a judge where she was accused of beating up four policemen. Apparently the police could not think of a more ludicrous crime with which to charge this diminutive mother of six (See

full report

Arutz7news published

excerpts

full report

If the protest in front of the PM's residence was peaceful and without incident; if Nadia committed no crime, why did the police arrest her? Why did they "take her down" violently? Why are they harassing her? In a prescient article that Jonathan Pollard published in defense of Nadia several years ago, The Case Against Nadia Matar, Pollard writes:

"What is it that the government and security establishment see in Nadia Matar which makes them fear her so? Why are the authorities so determined to silence her? It is not because of anything she has done. It is because of what she representsNadia is the head of one of the most effective citizens' advocacy groups in Israel. She is among a handful of natural leaders today, who have the will, the talent, and the strength of character to galvanize popular protest against undemocratic actions by the current Government of IsraelNadia represents everything a repressive regime fears in its citizenry. Her idealism and her enthusiasm are infectious and her determination is unyielding. She is a G-d fearing woman and a fierce nationalist, not easily threatened or intimidated. She is a thinker and resists following blindly. What is more, she is a powerful model and source of inspiration for others. In short, she is everything a dictatorial regime cannot tolerate if it is to retain complete and unquestioning control over its citizens [E]ven if they cannot make a case against Nadia, the public furor that they have created over this incident will make it easy to take other actions to silence her. For example, administrative detention is a far greater threat hanging over Nadia's head than any judicial proceeding that the Government may take against her"

The excerpt above was originally published in a longer article in October of 2004. In the article* Jonathan Pollard was the first to address the threat of administrative detention that hangs over Nadia Matar's head. This threat looms even larger today as the Olmert government barrels forward in its latest plans to eviscerate the heartland of Eretz Yisrael and tear Jerusalem apart. Olmert and his ilk grow ever more anxious to remove Nadia - the most effective voice of dissent, and the most credible Land of Israel leader - from public life. The recent arrest and harassment of Matar is just an artifice to enable them do so. Public outcry against any attempt to place Matar in administrative detention must be swift and sufficiently powerful to disrupt such action.