From the Editors 1 August 2015
He will go free in November.
Pollard’s release, long demanded by Israel, has been staunchly opposed, almost unanimously, by the US political-military establishment.
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both rejected repeated Israeli appeals for clemency.
So why is Obama allowing him to go free now? Is it to appease Israel’s anger over the Iran nuclear deal?
Why is Pollard being treated so much more leniently than the Holy Land Five, Palestinian Americans sentenced to 65-year terms for raising humanitarian funds to help people in their homeland?
I spoke to The Real News about some of the background to the Pollard case and the politics around the decision to let him go now.
Watch the video above and read my earlier post on the topic.
Comments
Israeli independence
Permalink Anthony Shaker replied on
Ali,
Thank you for bringing back the details of this case from so long ago. I hope you are giving more interviews. Please try the mainstream media, too, if, as you are right in pointing out, there was broad official opposition to Pollard's release.
I was far from a friend to the bellicose Cold War warriors of yesterday. But selling the most secret of secret intelligence to the USSR, as Jonathan Pollard did, has to do with much more than just Cold War politics.
The State of Israel that employed Pollard, not just Pollard himself, is a direct threat to my family and my community. Given the chance and the power, as it believes it now possesses in Congress and around the US and Canada, this Zionist race will sell our countries for a pittance to anyone who will offer it protection.
Israel, let us never forget, is bent on genocide. Its leaders are planning the complete destruction of the Palestinian people. They are pursuing the balkanization of the Middle East on ethno-religious lines to realize one specific objective: the total dismantlement of Palestinian society inside Palestine.
There are growing recognition of this in the European Union, but recognition has yet to translate into concrete action. Americans and Canadians had better wake up to the snake in their midst. We are being manipulated by wealthy swindlers like Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers. In Canada, they are already inside the Harper team and CSIS.
Above all, Zionists brazenly and routinely manipulate democratic elections in broad daylight, promoting failures and moral dwarves as candidates. The result is what we see. What a pitiful end to American "exceptionalism"! I hope the Pollard case is sufficient evidence for Americans and Canadians to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign with action.
So, thanks are not enough. I will certainly donate to EI for all the time and effort you and others spend to bring vital to the attention of the public.
CORRECTION
Permalink Anthony Shaker replied on
In my message above, I meant to say "Zionist race colony," not "Zionist race," which makes no sense. There some other errors too trivial to mention.
Holy Land 5
Permalink Ciaran Tierney replied on
whatever about this case, and the merits of letting Pollard out at this stage, I don't think there is enough global awareness of the Holy Land Five. It's quite shocking that people have been given 65- year terms for effectively raising money for charities.
I would say the lack of awareness of what's really happening in Israel and Palestine is a massive issue across the U.S.
Thanks to the mainstream media, particularly Fox News, there are those who "stand with Israel" no matter what atrocity the Zionist state commits. And that kind of ignorance fuels the belief that all Palestinians are "terrorists"