Israel Hayom: Pollard's release date changed back to November 2015
Information on U.S. Bureau of Prisons website announces Pollard would remain in prison for life. BoP spokesman cannot confirm if change was intentional or a mistake, stresses that release date is still conditional on approval by parole board. [J4JP: Nonsense! Pollard's release is NOT conditional on approval by Parole Board! The Parole Board is just a rubber stamp; the Government calls the shots! See prefacing note.]
Yori Yalon and Israel Hayom Staff - Israel Hayom - October 10, 2014
J4JP Prefacing Note:
Nothing could be more ridiculous than claiming that a US spokesperson indicated that Pollard's release is conditional on approval by a parole board! Pollard's release is conditional on the US government's approval. Without it, no parole board has the authority to release him no matter how excellently he meets all of the criteria for parole at board level. As long as the US government blocks parole, the parole board has no latitude to overrule and no ability to release Jonathan Pollard. Documentation in Pollard's parole file makes it abundantly clear that, barring an outright miracle, the US government intends to fight parole for Pollard vigorously, now, next year, and forever. The government flip-flop which changed Pollard's online projected release date to LIFE was calculated and revealed the government's true intentions. It was only the intensive questioning by media -- which had not been anticipated --- that forced the government to switch the date back to November 21, 2015 -- a date technically mandated by law, but one which the government has no intention of honoring.
Information on the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website that recently appeared next to the name of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, announcing that he would remain incarcerated for life, has been changed back to the original projected release date of November 21, 2015.
The announcement that Pollard would serve a life sentence sparked a storm of controversy in the U.S. Jewish community.
Ed Ross, spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons, noted that the 2015 date did not guarantee an automatic release and that Pollard being paroled was conditional on the approval of the parole board. Ross claimed that decisions on status changes were "administrative," but clarified that he didn't know whether the change to the site had been a mistake or intentional.
Pollard was arrested in Washington in 1985 and convicted of spying for Israel. He was sentenced to life in prison. Pollard's supporters say he is the only person ever sentenced to life for spying for a U.S. ally.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a proposal that tied Israeli acceptance of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's framework proposal for peace talks with the Palestinians to Pollard's release. However, as prospects for talks disintegrated, the possibility of securing Pollard's release faded.