Young Israel Movement Applauds Prime Minister Netanyahu's Decision
To Publicly Call For Pollard's Release

December 21, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Aaron Troodler
(888) 897-7450

YOUNG ISRAEL MOVEMENT APPLAUDS PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU'S DECISION TO PUBLICLY CALL FOR POLLARD'S RELEASE

The following is a statement by National Council of Young Israel President Shlomo Z. Mostofsky and Executive Vice President Rabbi Pesach Lerner concerning the announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will publically and officially call for the release of Jonathan Pollard:

"The National Council of Young Israel commends Prime Minister Netanyahu for his decision to officially call upon the United States to release Jonathan Pollard. The Young Israel Movement has been intimately and actively involved with Jonathan Pollard's plight for almost 20 years, and we wholeheartedly agree with the Prime Minister that it is time for the U.S. to set Jonathan Pollard free and send him home to Israel.

We urge President Obama to heed the calls of prominent law enforcement personnel and renowned legal professionals such as former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former CIA Director James Woolsey, former Senator Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, who was Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee when Pollard was arrested, and many other elected officials, professors of law, and community leaders, all of whom concur that Jonathan Pollard's life sentence is grossly disproportionate when compared to the sentences of others who have spied for allied nations.

We hope that the White House will note the fact that Jonathan Pollard has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, and acknowledge the fact that Jonathan's health has been rapidly deteriorating, when considering the Prime Minister's call to commute his prison sentence.

The National Council of Young Israel strongly encourages people to contact the White House and their federal representatives and urge them to work towards immediately securing Jonathan Pollard's freedom.

After spending the past quarter-century in a jail cell, it is time for the United States to open the prison gates and allow Jonathan Pollard to return home to his wife, his family, and the Jewish people."

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N. Aaron Troodler
Communications Director and Public Relations Coordinator
National Council of Young Israel
(888) 897-7450 (phone & fax)