Jonathon Pollard wrote, 16 August 2013, in the Jerusalem Post:

“Only a re-awakening can guarantee the future. Political process devoid of fundamental values will never end the agony or the fear for the State of Israel.”

FREED PRISONER Atiya Salem Moussa returns to a hero’s welcome in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Photo: REUTERS

For background on him, Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954 in Galveston TX to a Jewish family) is an American Jew who passed classified information to Israel while working as an American civilian intelligence analyst. He pleaded guilty and received a life sentence in 1987. Pollard’s supporters argue that his sentence was excessive. Although Pollard pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain for himself and his wife, he was shown no leniency and was given the maximum sentence with the exception of death. Pollard has claimed that he provided only information that, at the time, he believed was vital to Israeli security and that was being withheld by the Pentagon, in violation of a 1983 Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries regarding the sharing of vital security intelligence. Many American officials, including those who know the case first-hand, have for some time been urging US President Barack Obama to release Pollard because his sentence is “grossly disproportionate.” Similarly, Israel has made repeated official requests for his release on humanitarian grounds.
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