OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU - BRING POLLARD HOME NOW

9 MAY 2011/ 4 IYAR 5771
HE Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Ministers Bureau
Rechov Kaplan
Jerusalem
Israel
By Fax 02-6496659

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,

Jonathan Pollard, Gilad Shalit
In January this year you wrote to President Obama regarding the plight of Jonathan Pollard who has been incarcerated in a USA jail for over 26 years as a result of providing Israel with information with regard to Iraqi Chemical Weapons. Those who have spied for non-friendly nations against the USA with similar life sentences were freed within a few years of being sentenced as a result of pressure being exerted on the USA administration by the spies’ home country. In contrast your plea, those of the Knesset, President Peres and numerous former US executive and governmental officials and US Jewish religious and community leaders, have all been ignored. Pollard served the interests of the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people and is still suffering for this positive action which was performed without considering his own position. Surely, it is incumbent upon you during your visit in the forthcoming weeks to President Obama, to once and for all obtain a clear unequivocal positive response from the President. Your predecessors failed miserably and their actions only serve as a warning to Jews in the Diaspora not to take any actions on behalf of Israel because the State will NOT give them any support and be readily abandoned by it.

In addressing the issue of the release of Gilat Shalit, captured by terrorists from sovereign Israeli territory as a result of IDF incompetence. For the past weeks the media has not stopped in pushing the issue to the public’s forefront, day after day. But for some peculiar reason have decided to completely ignore the plight of Pollard. Even the rabbinical leaders do not recite Teffilah for Pollard but constantly do for Shalit.

You cannot justify considering releasing hundreds of Arab murderers with Jewish blood on their hands to be used as a bargaining chip for Shalit, irrespective of what documents they sign not to engage in terrorism anymore. Indeed, as a result of the tragic event at Itamar it must now be incumbent upon the government to introduce capital punishment both for this terrorist act and make it retrospective for past terrorist acts.

On this day of Yom Hazikoron I appeal to you to ensure that we must not forget or abandon Jonathan Pollard and that you will unequivocally during your visit to the USA put Pollard first on your public agenda with both the President and the media. You must bring home Pollard when you return from your visit.