As Jews prepare to enter the Tisha b’Av day of national mourning, we should take a moment to consider the ongoing suffering of a true hero who risked and paid everything to protect the people of Israel.
Jonathan Pollard’s Story
In the early 1980s, Jonathan Pollard was a United States Naval intelligence analyst who discovered information that Syria, Libya, Iraq and Iran were developing weapons of mass destruction with the intention of attacking the State of Israel.
After notifying his superiors, Pollard discovered that certain elements within the US intelligence establishment had decided to withhold the information from the Israeli government, despite Jerusalem being entitled to the intelligence according to a 1983 Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments.
According to high level US officials at the time, President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush had been cynically violating the memorandum in order to make the State of Israel increasingly dependent on Washington in matters of national defense, so as to more easily advance US imperial interests in the Semitic region.
Once aware of the American betrayal, Pollard heroically took it upon himself to warn Jerusalem of the threat. Israel took the necessary actions to neutralize the dangers but Prime Minister Shimon Peres ordered Pollard’s handlers to abandon him to the FBI in order to avoid a confrontation with Washington.
Plea “Agreement”
Pollard was granted citizenship by the State of Israel in 1996, as well as official recognition as an Israeli agent. As such, Jerusalem pledged to fund his legal expenses. But in January 2006, Pollard was denied official “Prisoner of Zion” status by Israel’s Supreme Court, likely for fear of antagonizing Washington.
Pollard’s Release
Pollard was eventually paroled on November 20, 2015, following 30 years in prison, but is still barred from leaving New York. Although no longer in prison, Pollard is still being prevented from returning home to the country he sacrificed so much for. His parole conditions require him to wear a GPS monitoring system and to adhere to a 7pm to 7am curfew.
In May of 2017, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Pollard’s appeal to ease these conditions, despite his poor health, which was also rejected as a valid reason for permitting him to leave New York and move home to Israel.
Among Israelis, Pollard is a national hero, a “Prisoner of Zion” on par with Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union.
On the 8th of Menaḥem Av, Jonathan Pollard’s birthday according to our calendar, we ask that readers say this tefillah on his behalf. Pollard’s imprisonment, partially facilitated by Jerusalem’s unwillingness to confront Washington and demand his freedom, is a direct reflection the State of Israel’s subjugation to US empire. Freedom for Pollard is therefore intertwined with Israel’s freedom.
