Esther Pollard meets with Tzippi Livni, implores: Speak out for Jonathan
Ilil Shachar - IDF Radio (Galei Tzahal) Online - May 16, 2011
[Translated to English by J4JP]
Against a backdrop of a wave of requests by senior American officials to President Obama to commute Jonathan Pollard's sentence to time served, his wife Esther, requested meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Leader of the Opposition Tzippi Livni, prior to the PM's departure for the US this week. She met with Livni on Monday and implored both leaders to express publicly and clearly the unequivocal support of all of Israel for Jonathan's release. Livni's response: Our hearts are torn apart...
On the eve of the departure of PM Binyamin Netanyahu for Washington, Esther Pollard requested an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister and with the Leader of the Opposition, Tzippi Livni. This morning (Monday), Pollard met with Livni and asked for her help in expressing publicly and clearly the hope of allof the nation of Israel that President Barack Obama will respond positively and expeditiously to the numerous requests for the release of her husband, Jonathan Pollard.
Livni responded to Esther, saying, "We remember too well how the gates of Washington Embassy were slammed in Jonathan Pollard's face, and from that time, our hearts have been torn apart. All of Israel is united in the hopeful expectation of the release of a man who acted on behalf of the security of the State of Israel and who has paid an unbearably heavy price for it." Livni promised to raise the request to free Pollard in meetings in Washington next week, and also to speak out publicly so it will be clear to all that the calls for Pollard's release are a matter of absolute consensus in Israel and come from across the complete spectrum of the Israeli people.
Esther's request to meet with Israel's Heads of State comes against a backdrop of an unending wave of support from senior American officials who have in recent weeks called on President Obama to commute Pollard's sentence and free him without delay. Amongst the senior officials who have turned to Obama calling for Pollard's release are a many who in the past opposed his release, and who are very familiar with the classified information concerning the affair, but who now declare that any further continuation of Pollard's incarceration is unjust, and represents "a travesty of justice", in their words.