Free Pollard now - The Jewish Standard

Here in Israel, we feel that the American Jewish Community can help in ending Jonathan Pollard’s outdated prison sentence, for a crime for which he alread has paid for dearly. Leaving him one more day in jail, especially as his health worsens, is a slow cruel, death beyond the realm of justice.

In the working of the American justice system, all other prison sentences handed out to people who perpetrated similar or worse breaches of national security ended with the offenders out of jail in considerably less time than Pollard has already spent. The U.S. administration cannot justify keeping Pollard incarcerated forever.

Key figures in U.S. political life, including former attorneys-general, have advocated for Pollard’s release. As Jews, we are commanded to have “one law for you and for the stranger within your gates.” As such, we are obligated to stand for equal justice under the law for all citizens of the United States, which itself subscribes to this principle.

As the presidential election nears, the Jewish community must unite on this issue, using its political potential to demand Pollard’s release. Then, we may say, “And the people redeemed Jonathan and he did not die” (1 Samuel 14:45).

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