Jerusalem – The Knesset will discuss imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard on Wednesday, ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit later this month.
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Temporary Knesset Speaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) agreed to a request from MK Yoni Chetboun (Bayit Yehudi) to hold an official plenary discussion.
“Pollard’s release is not a political issue or a concern of a specific segment of society,” Chetboun explained. “It is a national consensus that crosses [political] camps.”
The Bayit Yehudi MK called for his fellow lawmakers on the Right and Left to take part in the discussion.
“It is our moral responsibility as members of Knesset to act in order to bring Pollard’s immediate release and an end to this cruel saga,” he added.
Former assistant US secretary of defense Lawrence Korb, who was defense secretary Caspar Weinberger’s deputy at the time of Pollard’s arrest in 1985 and has been active in calling for Pollard’s release, will also attend the Knesset meeting.
Labor MK Nachman Shai wrote a letter to Ben-Eliezer last week, saying the Knesset must put Pollard on its agenda and express a wide consensus in favor of his release.
“We need a broad, intensive public effort to free Pollard,” Shai wrote. “It is our duty as MKs to give a platform to the major efforts in Israel and abroad to free him soon.”
On Monday, Shai also asked Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar to instruct schools to dedicate an hour to discussing Pollard in the context of Obama’s upcoming visit and US-Israel relations.
“[Pollard’s] continued incarceration raises questions about the American justice system,” Shai said.
“The State of Israel should stand by Pollard’s side and demand his release from President Obama.”
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Not once has Pollard himself applied for parole. I find this to be peculiar in the extreme. After all, אם אין אני לי, מי לי?
As much as I hate to say it, I feel no sympathy for Mr. Pollard and I am never going to let American diplomacy turn into a watering event. I think that Pollard is where he belongs and unless the President wants to give him the microphone on television, he is where I do not care to see him leave any time soon.
Reply to 2. You will get yours
How does the saying go? “If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime”
Where are all of you chareidy haters, frum jew bashers?
EY, which has denied efforts to extradite convicted felons back to the United States,including sexual abusers and those charged with manslaughter, has no moral high ground to “demand” anything from the U.S. criminal justice system. The more “pressure” they put on Obama, the more likely he will die in prison and never even be considered for pardon.
Please stop using these public columns to conduct your private fights.
As is stated below:
“IMPORTANT: Please read the rules before submitting your opinion.”
This means you, you, you – and me, too.
I’m glad there are some other educated people here. This situation is far more complicated than people realize. I have plenty of rachmanis…. But it’s true- he’s never applied for parole, & there have been other attempts to have him released in the past which he refused without a full pardon.