Redeem our brother, Jonathan son of the Queen

Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv - Justice4JPnews - May 3, 2010

Bio Note:

The author, Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv is a well-known Torah scholar, author, poet and expert on Torah Codes. He is the chief Rabbi of Givat Shmuel. His talent as a writer and poet are readily evident in the original Hebrew version of the letter that he recently wrote to Jonathan Pollard. The rendition to English below by J4JP captures the passion and spirit of the Hebrew original.

B"H Rosh Chodesh Iyar, 5770 / April 14, 2010

To our dear brother Jonathan Pollard, shlita

"Then David lamentedover Jonathanthe pride of Israelhow the heroes have fallen in battle!"

How apt are the words of King David, the sweet singer of Israel, to describe your valor, Jonathan, comparable to the glory of days of old.

You, Jonathan, son of the Queen (ben Malka) have comported yourself with the same fearless devotion to your People as your namesake, Jonathan, son of King Saul.

The Bible tells us of the first battle waged by King Saul: "The Philistines gathered to wage war against Israel with thirty thousand chariotscavalry and foot soldiers as numerous as the sand of the seashore." When the Israelites saw the might of their enemy, they fled the killing field: "They hid in caves and in fortresses and in rocks and in towers and in pits." (I Samuel 13:6)

When the Nation of Israel fled the field of battle field in despair, only Jonathan did not fear. Jonathan alone went out to fight the Philistines, who at that time were the rulers of The Land. Valiantly, he stood alone against a vast and mighty nation. With awesome might and Heavenly salvation, he miraculously vanquished the enemy.

In return, his reward and recompense from the Kingdom he served was to have a death sentence decreed upon him!

Unbeknownst to Jonathan, who had gone out to do battle on his own, his father, King Saul, had ordered the Israelites -on pain of death- "not to eat food until the evening" (I Samuel 14:24). Jonathan did not hear the King's command and innocently ate some honey in the forest. When it became known, King Saul was forced to declare, albeit with a heavy heart, that "Jonathan must be put to death" (I Samuel 14:42 to end of chapter).

But the Nation arose in Jonathan's defense and cried out against the decree. "The People said to Saul, 'Shall Jonathan, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel, die? Heaven forbid! As the Lord lives, not a hair of his head shall be harmed, for he has acted for God's sake this day!"

"And the People redeemed Jonathan and he did not die."

Our own beloved Jonathan also acted alone to save the nation of Israel from a holocaust which was plotted by Saddam Hussein. The devilish despot of Baghdad planned to wipe the Jewish State off the face of the earth using unconventional weapons of war. You, Jonathan, averted the disaster by sacrificing your own promising future and supplied us with intelligence information, with a sincere and pure heart, so that we could avert impending doom.

But instead of bestowing the Nobel Peace Prize on you, or at least the Israel Prize, the Powers-that-Be demand your head, and afflict you within an inch of your life, keeping you endlessly buried alive in a prison.

Between you Jonathan son of the Queen, and Jonathan son of King Saul, only one difference remains: you still have not been redeemed by your nation. The Heavenly indictment against us hovers as a terrible sin upon our heads, for our callousness and our indifference to your plight - so as not to annoy the foreign "Rulers of the Land" across the ocean.

Jonathan son of King Saul chose to safeguard the welfare of the People of Israel, even at his own expense, even at the expense of his father's house. He therefore relinquished his right to inherit the crown of his father, King Saul, and transferred the kingship to David who he knew was worthy of being anointed King over Israel, and for this Jonathan was pursued..

You too, righteous Jonathan, saved Israel at your own expense. Your pure soul would not allow you to repeat the crime of silence perpetrated by the American Jewish leaders, throughout the Second World War. They held their peace and not a single airplane was ever sent to bomb the railroad tracks to the death camps in Europe - millions of Jews who went to their deaths might otherwise have been saved.

The most phenomenally impressive thing about you, Jonathan, is how -- despite all you did to save the life of the Nation and all you received in return was our ingratitude -- yet you continue to judge us favorably and you still plead our cause. Even more amazing is the selflessness you demonstrate, refusing to accept your freedom, if the price for it is the release of the terrorist mastermind, Barghouti.

For all of these things, the Jewish Nation will yet sing songs of praise to you, noble spirit that you are, and harbinger of our eternal redemption.

I must also direct my words to all our dear brethren: Let our hearts overflow with compassion for our remarkable brother, Jonathan son of the Queen. Let us accept responsibility to take action: with our prayers, our pocketbooks, with our letters, our demonstrations and our protests. We must not rest!

The Jewish people must find a way to redeem Jonathan!

With love and admiration,

Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv