The Keep Jonathan in Jail Show

By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from Makor Rishon newspaper.

To Mr. Moti Sklar
Director of Israel Broadcast Authority

Re: The IBA's Contribution to Jonathan Pollard's Continued Incarceration

After 24 years in which the State of Israel has betrayed and abandoned the man who risked his life to save her, the Jonathan Pollard issue has recently returned to the headlines. As such, I was pleased to hear that a special show on Jonathan Pollard would be broadcast on Israel's state-run Channel 2 radio last Thursday at 10 p.m. As broadcaster Pe'erli Shachar announced time and again, the subject of the show would be, "Jonathan Pollard: the refusal of the U.S. to release him and the efforts made by the governments of Israel to obtain his release."

Pe'erli Shachar interviewed seven people on her show. But of all the interviewees, only two supported Pollard. All the others spoke against the man who risked his life for all of us.

Whoever is interested in understanding the reason why our brother Jonathan is still in jail, should read the summary of the Channel 2 radio show, as follows:

Interviewee 1: Dr. Ronen Bergman, Journalist
Bergman accused Pollard of being responsible for his plight. According to Bergman, Pollard made too much noise and holds right-wing views, thus precluding his release.

Interviewee 2: Larry Dubb, Pollard's Attorney
Larry Dubb was the only person on the show who presented facts and not speculations. Dubb, however, speaks a slow, heavily accented Hebrew, rendering him less eloquent than some of the other, hostile interviewees. If listeners were convinced by Dubb, the other interviewees summarily "balanced" the positive impression of Pollard that Dubb had temporarily created.

Interviewee 3: Amnon Dror, Government Director of Pollard Affair
Dror claimed that all of Israel's leaders have requested Jonathan's release. He also claimed that Pollard and those close to him have received heavy government funding. Dror, of course, brought no proof of his words. He also slickly blamed Pollard for his plight, citing that Pollard fired the legal representatives that the Israeli government had hired for him. Dror forgot to mention that those attorneys gave the Americans all the tools that they needed to keep Jonathan in jail, including not submitting an appeal on time.

Interviewee 4: Natan Ra'anan, Berel Katznelson Foundation
This man simply claimed that Pollard spied for money, damaged American interests, worked for an independent organization and that Israel owes him nothing. Ra'anan, like most of the other interviewees, explained the American side of the story, completely ignoring the fact that Pollard acted to save him and his country.

Interviewee 5: Professor Michael Bar Zohar, Liaison of U.S. Jewish Organizations
Bar Zohar was a refreshing change in the hostile atmosphere that Israel's Broadcasting Authority concocted against the Israeli spy rotting in prison. As opposed to the interviewees who preceded him, he did not attack Pollard. But he certainly did not support him. Bar Zohar also explained the American side of the story, citing a strange conspiracy theory - (that the Americans think that Pollard still knows something that he did not reveal.)

Interviewee 6: Dr. Guy Bechor, Journalist
Bechor explained that he does not know the details of the affair. But he knowledgably explained how Pollard betrayed American trust and is thus receiving his due, as is accepted practice in the US. Bechor ignored the fact that spies from nations hostile to America, who actually harmed American interests and even brought about the deaths of American agents, were released from U.S. prisons after serving only a few years. The reason that they were released is very simple: their countries remained loyal to them. Bechor adopted the American stand with no commitment to the man who sacrificed his life for him.

Interviewee 7: A Professor from the Ariel College.
Beside Pollard's attorney, this man was the only interviewee to present Pollard in a positive light. But the man did not add more than general sympathy for Pollard to the discussion.

The impression that Israel's public broadcasting system made on the public is clear:

The impression created by the Channel 2 special report is that Pollard is to blame for his plight, the Americans are right, Israel is doing all it can to attain his release and even that Pollard is the bad side of the story.

The Israel Broadcasting Authority did not interview the real experts on the Pollard case - the people who know the facts and who are willing to openly stand behind the Jewish patriot rotting in prison.

After listening to the IBA's special broadcast for Pollard, those people who still cannot understand why Pollard is still in jail after 24 years of Israeli "efforts" to attain his release - may finally catch on.

Sincerely,

Moshe Feiglin
Karnei Shomron