When I accepted Jonathan Pollard’s request to organize and head up a grass-roots organization to advocate on his and Anne’s behalf I could only say, “of course!” Within weeks Justice for the Pollards existed and I had arranged to tour Israel with his sister, Carol. Support for the Pollard’s was almost non-partisan among Israeli politicians and I was assisted by both Shulamit Aloni of Labor, and Geula Cohen of Herut. Geula was particularly helpful in introducing me to her administrative assistant, Yisrael Medad, who helped navigate political circles. Even after I returned to the United States Yisrael brilliantly floor managed our plan to have the Knesset draft a letter of support for the Pollards to President Reagan. In the end the letter had 70 signatories and, although intended to be delivered to the president was instead accepted by a minor functionary at the back door to the White House. A clear indication of what would follow over the next decades.

James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, recently described Pollard a continuing threat to national security because he handled “sensitive and confidential information classified as top secret” thirty years ago. As nonsensical as this assertion, still I might agree with the director in that Jonathon may represent a continuing threat to the reputation of the Reagan Administration and for participants in Irangate and its cover-up thirty years ago. But for Obama’s DNI to repeat Clinton’s DCI at the prospect of releasing Pollard that he was a “continuing threat” to national security is hardly worth comment.
The Pollard Affair is festering injury not only to Pollard, Israel and Jews in America but also the United States Government and the meaning of American Justice. Rather than maintain the embarrassment of political corruption (Irangate and its cover-up,) and the administration’s corruption of justice: Does it not make sense to finally put the entire affair to rest? Let Pollard go to Israel and allow the sordid affair fade into history.
The recent JPOSTEDITORIAL: Pollard claptrap appeared this past week. The editorial provides a summary of many things I have been writing over the past thirty years. Criticizing the present DNI is the short version of what I intend to explore more fully as a book in the coming year. Between this editorial and Yisrael Medead’s recent blog the reader is provided a good basis to understand important issues regarding what become known as the Pollard Affair, the excesses to which governmental abuse can reach as in Watergate; and Irangate.
David Turner