Dershowitz on Pollard Spy Case
Re “ ‘Tis the Season to Forgive a Spy,” Commentary, Dec. 3:
The case of Jonathan Pollard, convicted spy, has nothing to do with the Middle East peace initiative. Contrary to what Alan Dershowitz says, Pollard has not been severely punished. He remains comfortably in the care and custody of the federal prison system. If he has shown remorse, it is only because he was caught.
There are no “new realities” to justify his crime or his release. The “compassion” Dershowitz advocates is not appropriate for someone who took advantage of a position of trust to sell out his fellow Americans. There is no season to forgive a spy.
THOMAS KEISER
Arcadia
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* I disagree with Dershowitz on the subject of commuting Pollard’s sentence. I feel that for his act of treason he should have been executed. I think there should have been an open trial so that all the damage that his act caused would have been exposed. I think that those who also participated should likewise have been executed.
I am an African American veteran of the Vietnam War. I don’t condone treason by any American. The acts by Pollard put America’s military men and women at risk. Israel has proven in my eyes to be an unreliable ally by transferring American technology to China, which has a history of supporting various anti-American governments with military hardware. There will come a time when our military will be fighting against its own technology because Israelis sold something that was meant to help them. I feel that the $3 billion that we give Israel should be halted until such time as it proves its reliability as an ally!
JOHN WRIGHT
Altadena
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* Recently, I faxed a letter to President Clinton urging him and his staff to reexamine the issues involving the Pollard case. Many Americans believe that it is morally proper that clemency and/or parole be granted to Pollard as soon as possible. Note that I am not suggesting a pardon--no thinking American ever had any illusion that he was somehow “innocent” of wrongdoing.
In March 1990, I was honored to chair an event at our Jewish Center at which Jonathan’s father, Prof. Morris Pollard, accompanied by his wife, Jonathan’s mother, spoke to an overflowing crowd of more than 200 people. Prof. Pollard admitted without hesitation that his son broke the law, and deserved some punishment--but we were shocked to learn of the duplicity that followed his attempt to cooperate with authorities in 1987. A new book by John Loftus (1995) exposes this double-cross by our own government (as demanded by Caspar Weinberger) against Pollard.
Dershowitz makes a truly compelling case for the morality of our society simply doing the right thing. Our government should grant clemency to Pollard as soon as possible.
BRIAN FINANDER
Community Relations Chair
Jewish Federation
Long Beach