Received this email from Buddy Macy;
From: VegiBud@aol.com [mailto:VegiBud@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 8:57 PM
To: VegiBud@aol.com
Subject: Per a staff member, Senator Lautenberg is revisiting the Jonathan Pollard case!Earlier this afternoon, I made a call to Senator Frank Lautenberg’s office. I was told by one of his staff members that HE HAS RECEIVED A BARRAGE OF PHONE CALLS DEMANDING THAT THE SENATOR WORK TOWARDS FREEING JONATHAN POLLARD. THE PERSON I SPOKE WITH SAID THAT THE SENATOR’S STAFF HAS RECEIVED ABOUT 70 CALLS IN THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. I TOLD THE INDIVIDUAL THAT SENATOR LAUTENBERG HAD WRITTEN TO ME A FEW MONTHS AGO, STATING THAT HE WAS AGAINST THE RELEASE OF JONATHAN POLLARD AT THAT TIME. BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF PHONE CALLS, AND SUBSTANTIAL ATTENTION TO JONATHAN’S WELFARE, SENATOR LAUTENBERG IS REVISITING THE ISSUE! LET US KEEP UP THE PRESSURE AND GET JONATHAN HOME BY ROSH HASHANAH!!!
PLEASE CALL 202-224-3224 RIGHT NOW, AND STRONGLY URGE SENATOR LAUTENBERG TO HELP FREE JONATHAN POLLARD FOR THE HIGH HOLIDAYS!
If you have any doubts about the freeing of Jonathan, click this excellent comprehensive piece below written in April 2005 by Caroline Glick, which should erase them:
Israel And Freedom For Jonathan Pollard By Caroline Glick (April 28, 2005 )
And in another email, this from Janet Lehr of the IsraelLives List, it was disclosed that Esther Pollard, with legal counsel, met with Israel State Controller Micha Lindenstrauss in February, 2006.
Below is the email this author fired off to State Controller Lindenstrauss today followed by excerpts of Esther Pollard’s recent speech at Young Israel Beit Knesset Hanassi, Jerusalem where she spoke about the meeting with the State Controller. MB
mevaker@mevaker.gov.il, feedback@mevaker.gov.il
Moshe Burt
Attn: The Honorable Micha Lindestrauss — State Comptroller and Ombudsman
Shalom Your Honor and L’Shana Tova to You and Your Family;
I will first open by expressing these sentiments; May we all, Kol Am Yehudi only know happiness, fulfillment and unity in this year and in all years to come.
I am writing to you as one who has known of and cared very much through the years about the plight of Jonathan Pollard, and the government of Israel’s utter, abject neglect of his welfare, the welfare of his wife and for the mitzvah of Pidyon Sh’vuim — liberation from incarceration of Jewish prisoners held unjustly in foreign or enemy prisons as prisoners, as a result of kidnapping, or as a result of dubious or perfiduous accusation of crimes. Included in Pidyon Sh’vuim are incarcerations resulting from overly, unjustly, unduly and inordinately harsh and long lengths of incarceration for a “crime” who’s penalty upon conviction lacks justification, based on norms for incarceration for such “crime.” Further, as a Jew, he undoubtly saved countless Jewish lives by his herioc, courageous act of agency on behalf of Israel. He MUST NOT be abandoned.
I am also writing to you having followed your progress as State Controller this past year with great admiration for your uncompromising conviction to fight corruption at all levels, right up to the Prime Minister’s office. And similarly, worthy of admiration is your steadfast conviction to investigate anything and everything which you deem wrong, corrupt and investigation-worthy regarding the government’s and military’s mismanagement or possible malfeasance in the prosecution of the recent War in Lebanon. I pray that you are instrumental, as I understand or interpret the responsibilities of your office to entail, in the forming of an independent state commission of investigation concerning the war.
But I am writing to you, having recently become aware of the meeting which took place in February, 2006 between yourself and your Controller’s office legal team with Mrs Pollard, and with my firm belief that the betrayal of Jonathan in 1985 laid the groundwork of precedent for subsequent abandonments; of Ron Arad, Baumel and the other MIA’s as well as the abandonment in 2000 of our former South Lebanese allies who fought Hezbollah. I further believe that the same “confusion” and rush of successive Israeli governments to deceive and to cover their backs before “the Superpower” which governed their handling of Jonathan Pollard, their denial of his agency, etc. now governs their management and prosecution of the War in Lebanon and possible abandonment with the passage of time of the kidnapped soldiers. In my humble opinion, the Pollard case is thus investigation-worthy on those grounds, aside from the stand-alone validity of investigation of the circumstances surrounding the government’s handling of the entire Pollard affair.
Your Honor, I believe, Anee Mamin, that such an investigation of Israeli governments regarding their callous, corrupt treatment of and failure to liberate their agent, despite definite signs from the American government that they would free him, if only they were approached by those from Israel empowered to make such a serious approach bears investigative worthiness. And I believe that diligence and straightforwardness (excuse the pun: Kadima) in such investigation on your part will enhance your credibility as a true Tzadik; in the truest sense of the posuk from Parsha Shoftim containing the phrase; “Tzedek, Tzedek Te’irdof… Justice, Justice you will pursue.”
Your Honor, I pray that you see the justice of investigating the Pollard affair and will stand steadfast in order that right and justice will, at long last, prevail.
Sincerely and Respectfully,
Moshe Burt
Email letters can be sent to State Controller Micha Lindenstrausseither
via mevaker@mevaker.gov.il or feedback@mevaker.gov.il or via the form shown on the page linked.
Jonathan and the Judge: A Final Chapter in the Pollard Case?
Excerpts from the Text of Esther Pollard’s Speech
at Young Israel Beit Knesset Hanassi, Jerusalem
September 6, 2006 B”H / 13 Elul 5766
On a sunny winter day, early in the New Year 2006, one of the most historic meetings we have ever had on this case took place in Jerusalem.
Jonathan and I have never before breathed a word about our meeting with Israel’s State Comptroller, Judge Micha Lindenstrauss. Tonight we would like to share that experience with you.
For years Jonathan has appealed to one State Comptroller after another to investigate the Government’s mishandling of his case. All his appeals were rejected with flimsy excuses.
Consequently, we had pretty much despaired of ever getting a hearing. That is why it was so exciting when Israel’s newest State Comptroller, Judge Micha Lindenstrauss, responded positively to our request for a meeting.
Israel’s State Comptroller, also known as the Mivaker HaMidina, has broad powers of oversight and the right to investigate every government office, decision and process.
No individual or office in this country is exempt from the Mivaker HaMidina’s probe and all are compelled by law to respond to his questions and provide whatever information is requested.
The ultimate goal of an investigation by the State Comptroller is the publication of a public report. The report is intended to bring to light those areas or issues that must be rectified, with a view to improving Government efficiency; safe-guarding the interests of the public; protecting the rights of the individual; and eliminating government waste, graft, corruption, and cronyism.
Our long-awaited meeting with Judge Lindenstrauss took place on February 23, 2006 at the offices of the Mivaker HaMidina. I was accompanied by Larry Dub, Jonathan’s Jerusalem attorney.
As if to underscore the seriousness of the meeting, Judge Lindenstrauss had invited all of his extended executive staff to attend, the heads of every State office under his auspices – from the State Ombudsman to the head of the State Legal Department, about half a dozen people in all.
At the outset of the meeting, I presented Judge Lindenstrauss with a personal message from Jonathan and then with a file of documented information regarding the issues that Jonathan wanted to bring to the judge’s attention.
Delivering Jonathan’s message took about 15 minutes. It removed any doubt about Jonathan’s awareness of the meeting and underscored his deep appreciation for the Mivaker’s willingness to receive us. It was my job for the next 2 hours to expand on the issues that Jonathan had touched on.
Esther Pollard then went on to enumerate approximately 40 pertinent and documented points to State Controller Lindenstrauss.
These facts and documented information were presented to the Mivaker HaMidina, Judge Micha Lindenstrauss, on that fateful day in February when after years and years of waiting, a new State Comptroller received us and seemed to embrace the case.
The meeting was a great success! It had originally been scheduled to last 1 hour, but went on for some 2 ½ hours before it was reluctantly concluded — and even then, only because we all had other commitments. I went straight from the meeting with the Mivaker HaMidina, to report personally to Jonathan’s rav, HaRav Mordecai Eliyahu, shlita. He was as delighted as we were with the reception and the commitment we had received from the Mivaker. He and all of our closest associates were especially buoyed to hear about the warm wishes and blessings we received from Judge Lindenstrauss and his executive staff.
I remember one of the last things that I said to Judge Lindenstrauss before saying good-bye. I told him, “We do not expect you to secure Jonathan’s release, but your investigation may be an important part of the process of bringing it about. Your public report has the potential to shine a light on this case that has never been shone, and in that way to be a catalyst for Jonathan’s freedom. But, even if your report results in no direct advantage for Jonathan, it must be written in order to ensure that what happened to Jonathan never ever again happens to anyone else who serves the State of Israel.”
Judge Lindenstrauss seemed to understand; he responded warmly and reassuringly, and promised to investigate. He promised that he and his staff would stay in touch and would contact us if they needed any further information. We were deeply touched by his words of support and encouragement; and by his and his executive staff’s warmth and enthusiasm.
That was six months ago.
On August 17th, Jonathan used up a week’s worth of his precious telephone minutes to dictate a personal letter to Judge Lindenstrauss. In it Jonathan reiterated the facts that I have shared with you tonight, and he added:
“[Judge Lindenstrauss] with the exception of a brief message
we received in March of this year (5 ½ months ago) from
one of your staff, saying that you are investigating, there has not been a word from you or your office since then. My situation in the meantime only continues to deteriorate.Every day that I survive is a complete miracle….May we know the status of your investigation, and when you anticipate publishing your findings. Yours truly, Jonathan Pollard.”
A few days later, on August 23rd Jonathan and I received a reply. The very brief response was signed by the “Senior Assistant to the State Comptroller and International Liaison” and echoed virtually the same unmistakable message we have gotten from Israeli Government officials for the last 21 years: The matter is being handled. Don’t call us; we’ll call you.
I am sharing this with you tonight, because it is anecdotally representative of the last 21 years that Jonathan has been slowly bleeding to death in prison, in full view of the State of Israel and its elected and appointed officials, and in full view of the Jewish People.
Why does it matter that my husband continues to languish in prison after 21 years in some of the harshest of conditions?
Why should the fate of one individual be of concern to anyone – especially when so much time has passed, and there are now seemingly “more pressing problems” such as the impending threat of another outbreak of war, and the fate of Israel’s 3 latest captive soldiers?
It matters because the fate of my husband, Jonathan Pollard, is the miner’s canary of the moral health and welfare of the People of Israel. A State that first betrays and then abandons its own agent for more than 2 decades and then relegates him to the dustbin of history while it moves on to other exploits is a State that is morally bankrupt. And a State that is morally bankrupt will not be able to fulfill its People’s highest national aspirations, nor will it ever be capable of commanding the kind of moral resolve needed to bring its captives home.
As Jonathan himself recently wrote in a letter to the families of the 3 newly captive soldiers:
“…fighting for the return of a captive requires a moral basis. It requires a commitment to G-d, country and fellow man. It requires the kind of morality that the State of Israel no longer seems to have… When there is no moral basis for the return of a captive, there is of course no moral resolve, no determination to succeed, and as result no effective action is taken. This creates a vacuum which the politicians love to fill with empty words and empty promises…”
While we cannot say with certainty when the State of Israel became detached from its moral roots and the People from our commitment to each other, we do know that the moral decay was there 21 years ago when Jonathan was thrown out of the Israeli Embassy in Washington and into the waiting arms of the FBI.
That moral failure, that on-going sin against a loyal son of Israel who served the State and its People, has gone unchallenged and unrepaired for 21 years. It hangs like a curse over the Nation. It spawned the abandonment of Ron Arad, Zachary Baummel, Tzvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz, and Guy Hever. It bred the callous abandonment of Mudhat Yosuf who was wounded on the field of battle and left to bleed to death at Kever Yosef in Shchem.
It is the same moral failure that conceived and implemented the inhumane expulsion and destruction of Gush Katif and northern Samaria; and more recently facilitated the abandonment of all of the citizens of northern Israel. It is the same moral failure which has given birth to a culture of empty words and broken promises which subsequent Governments of Israel have perfected to a high art.
It is the same moral failure that now also threatens the lives of Gilead Shalit, Eldad Regev, and Ehud Goldwasser.
As long as we allow Jonathan to continue to rot in prison, and we act as if his fate is of no consequence to us, the poison will continue to seep into our national consciousness and continue to destroy the fabric of our society as a moral and just People, as a Light unto the Nations.
As long as we do not rectify the problem at its root by bringing Jonathan home, this culture of abandonment will continue its relentless march onward, as the government openly plans for the next round of uprooting, betrayal and abandonment of its loyal citizens and communities.
As Jonathan writes in his letter to the families of the captive soldiers,
“We cannot, we must not allow this culture of abandonment to go on! The People of Israel must find the emotional strength to return to the path of arevut hadaddeet (mutual responsibility). We must rekindle and recapture our strength as nation that stands united… [and as a nation that has] at its root, the moral resolve necessary to be utterly committed to not surrendering to evil, and to absolutely never abandoning a brother in time of trouble… If we can do this, and I believe we can, then we may once again be worthy of the blessing of Heaven – as we were at Entebbe- and be worthy of the swift return home of all of Zion’s prisoners.”
May G-d bless us all, and may we soon see the speedy release of Jonathan Gilad, Eldad and Ehud, along with all of Israel’s captives and MIA’s! Amain.
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