Text: Jonathan Pollard's [Oct. 7,2007] Letter to Israeli Ambassador Merridor

J4JPNews - November 6, 2007

To:

Date:

No. of Pages (incl. this one):

Special Delivery c/o Consulate of Israel, Atlanta Ga.

From:

Email:

Message:

Dear Mr. Ambassador,

Shalom rav!

I trust this letter finds you well. Some time has passed since our meeting this summer. I look forward to hearing from you for an update about what has transpired since then.

There is a serious matter that I would like to bring to your attention. As you know, I am generally opposed to needless publicity. But damage that is done publicly must be corrected publicly. I am therefore writing to request your assistance in relaying a request to Prime Minister Olmert for a public apology and a retraction.

I am attaching a copy of a letter from the Prime Minister's office which was recently provided to us by an Israeli citizen. I have no doubt that there are many letters similar in content which have been disseminated to the Israeli public. In the sample attached, the Israeli citizen wrote to the Prime Minister to ask whether my wife and I are receiving financial support from the State of Israel. The Prime Minister's office responded that the State of Israel is supporting not only me and my wife, but my "close associates" as well, "in every possible way." This is, of course, an outright lie.

It is a lie that the Government of Israel has deliberately planted and cultivated over the years to undermine public concern for me. It is a lie that the Government of Israel, under Ehud Olmert, continues to repeat, both privately and publicly, as if to immunize itself from charges of abandonment.

It is a lie that adds insult to injury. Even though, in 1998, the State of Israel signed an official document (copy attached) acknowledging me as a bona fide agent and promising to accept full responsibility for all that flows from that, the State has instead invested enormous efforts to deprive me of all my rights as an agent in captivity; to prevent me and my wife from receiving any financial support whatsoever; and to deny me any of the legal protections that are owed to me.

In the 22 years that I have been in prison, neither my wife nor I have ever received a cent from the government of Israel. Nor has the Government of Israel assisted us - medically, morally, legally or otherwise. In spite of its repeated declarations to the Supreme Court of Israel, that it owes me and my wife full support and assistance, the State of Israel has never discharged any of its acknowledged responsibilities.

Worse still, in its response to my last BAGATZ in 2005, the State of Israel again lied to the High Court when it claimed it was supporting me and my wife financially. Since this lie was couched in "dicta" that did not relate to the substance of the lawsuit, there was no legal remedy at the time to force a retraction. The judge himself expressed doubts about this claim but did not strike it from the record. Apparently noting how the Government previously got away with it in court, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert now recycles this lie in written responses to the public.

I am asking you to please convey my request to Prime Minister Olmert for an immediate public apology and a retraction of his government's statement that the State of Israel is supporting and assisting me and my wife and my close associates "in every possible way". I ask that a truthful statement be made, acknowledging that the Government of Israel has obligations to me as an Israeli agent in captivity, which to date, have not been fulfilled.

I enclose for your further edification copies of a communication between then Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and the late Minister Rechavam Zeevi (z'l). These letters lay to rest the lies that have been spread in the media. There is no bank account for me in Jerusalem. No funds are being saved for me. Not a cent has ever been paid to me or my wife.

I enclose also a report by Yediot Achronot stating that the Ministry of Defense confirms that I do not receive monetary assistance from the State of Israel.

As for the Government of Israel providing me with other kinds of "support and assistance in every possible way," Mr. Ambassador, if that were at all true, my lawyers would not have to be pro-bono and working without pay; my wife would not be homeless; and I would not still be rotting in prison for 22 years.

When a Prime Minister of Israel lies blatantly about the State's support of an agent in captivity and is allowed to go unchallenged, the security of all those who serve the state is jeopardized. It is therefore incumbent upon Mr. Olmert to immediately issue a public retraction and an apology to me and to my wife, so that all citizens who received letters similar to the one attached will know the truth: the State of Israel does not, nor has it ever, supported or assisted Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther, neither financially, nor legally, nor morally.

When a lie is as damaging as this one, Mr. Ambassador, one cannot rest until it is corrected.

I thank you in advance for your assistance in righting this additional and unnecessary injustice to which the State of Israel has thoughtlessly and cruelly subjected us.

Stay well,

Jonathan

Cc Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Exec. VP National Council of Young Israel

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Letter from PM's Office to an Israeli Citizen Re: Support for Pollard which falsely claims that the State "supports and assists Jonathan Pollard and his close associates in every way possible."
2. Official Letter Recognizing Jonathan Pollard as an Israeli Agent
3. PM Barak - MK Ze'evi Correspondence: No Bank Account for Pollard English Translation

   here

   .
4. Yediot Achronot: Ministry of Defense Says Pollard Didn't Get Money

See Also: Text: Jonathan Pollard's [Oct. 22, 2007] Letter to Israeli Ambassador Merridor