America’s best-known Jewish prisoner has passed the 20-year mark
of his life term for giving classified information to Israel.
Fervently supported by some, vilified by others, Jonathan Jay
Pollard, the 50-year-old former United States Navy intelligence
analyst, is largely ignored by most American Jews. Though his
sentence recommends against parole, he prays for his release. In
this exclusive interview, he talks about his case and refers to the
federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, as his “gated
community.”
Q. In 1986, you were pled guilty to one
count of passing classified information to Israel and expressed
remorse. Who is responsible for your serving more time for this
kind of offense than any other American in history?
A. Unfortunately, I have to say the State of
Israel. The political leadership. The Mossad. Not the regular
people. And the leadership of American Jewry and those U.S.
government officials who exploit this case to call into question
both the loyalty of America’s Jews and the value of Israel’s
strategic alliance with the U.S. To this long list I must add a
number of congressmen and senators who do in fact understand the
miscarriage of justice that has taken place in my case yet have
chosen to remain silent.
Q. You believe is at stake than just your
imprisonment?
A. The essence of my case goes to the promise made
by George Washington centuries ago, [to] the historic Touro
Synagogue, that America’s Jewish citizens will always be treated
equally in this new society. My constitutional rights have been
grossly violated for political reasons, but principally because I
am a Jew. My main accuser was then-Defense Secretary Caspar
Weinberger, who has subsequently admitted that my case was “a very
minor matter” that was blown out of all proportion to serve other
ends. President Clinton’s Mideast negotiator, Dennis Ross, has also
acknowledged… that my sentence was too harsh and that I deserve
to be freed unconditionally. Despite these critical admissions by
key officials, here I am, still sitting in prison. In my case, the
legal process has sadly been totally corrupted. This is not just me
claiming this; it is Weinberger and Ross — two people who
definitely know the inside story — saying it for all to hear. They
have nothing to gain from their candor, yet they couldn’t be any
clearer.
Q. Is any of the intelligence that passed
through your hands relevant today?
A. Absolutely not. The very definition of
intelligence must indicate that there is no longer one shred of
relevance today.
Q. Why did the National Security Agency
send an agent — who is sitting here with us — to monitor this
interview?
A. You’d have to ask him. [The U.S. intelligence
community] made a conscious decision to use me as a weapon against
the Jewish community and especially against AIPAC. These people
oppose the special relationship that historically bound America and
Israel together. My treatment was a means to an end, a way to end
the role of Israel as a natural ally to the U.S. Why? One must ask
who would want to challenge the special relationship. The answer
could range from traditional anti-Semites who disdain both American
Jews and Israel, to other interests that are players in American
foreign policy, be they Arab regimes or oil interests.
Q. People convicted of crimes similar to
yours typically get much shorter sentences, and even the prosecutor
in your case did not recommend the maximum. Why do you believe you
received a life sentence?
A. That question was actually answered in 1998, in
an article by J.J. Goldberg, now the editor of the
Forward. He quoted high-level sources in Washington who
indicated that it was the Joint Chiefs of Staff who engineered my
sentence, working through Caspar Weinberger to communicate with the
sentencing judge. These sources stated clearly that my sentence had
nothing to do with my guilt or innocence, but was intended solely
to send a message to American Jews.
Q. I came across a lot of invective-filled
articles by Seymour Hersh. Why is he crusading against
you?
A. He is a guy who facilitates agendas of various
parties in exchange for scoops. He turns leaks, lies and fables
into alleged journalism. And yet, ironically, even he quoted former
CIA chief George Tenet confirming that no information I ever gave
Israel compromised the safety of any U.S. agent or was released to
any third party beyond Israel.
Q. Can you describe your typical
day?
A. I wake up at 5 a.m. I daven. I go to breakfast
and come back to work as an orderly in my unit… washing windows,
waxing floors, cleaning toilets. I squeeze in radio time, mainly
the BBC and NPR. I [also] read voraciously: the New York
Times, Wall Street Journal, Jerusalem Post,
the Economist, Washington Post, MIT
Technology Review, and a full range of Jewish publications. I
read books. Now I’m reading a biography of Orde Wingate, the
Christian Zionist supporter of the Yishuv before the state was
created. I write every single day — in longhand, since we have no
computer, much less Internet access, about projects I want to do,
things I would like to build in the future. I call my wife, Esther,
at least once a day, but only for a few minutes since I’m limited
to 300 minutes maximum each month. I have lunch and keep reading
and writing once work finishes at 3:30 p.m.
Q. What do you eat?
A. Real kosher food is virtually nonexistent. I am
able to buy some limited items such as rice crackers and canned
tuna from the commissary out of my own pocket. If and when it is
available on the prison menu, I try to eat tofu and soy products —
no matter how badly they massacre it in the preparation. Other than
that I [end up] eating lots of rice and beans. I am grateful to
Rabbi Pesach Lerner of the National Council of Young Israel who, in
spite of endless obstacles, tries valiantly to help me maintain my
religious needs, ranging from financial assistance for buying
kosher food to holiday and spiritual needs.
Q. Is there any sense of Jewish community
in this facility?
A. No. Regrettably all kinds of weird people here
say they are Jews for reasons that are spurious and self-serving.
To the best of my knowledge, there are only two or three actual
Jews in this prison. I try to keep to myself. I have learned that I
cannot trust anyone, but I do have a very small number of
friends.
Q. What have been your lowest and highest
points in prison?
A. My low points were clear — the day my mom
died, the day my mother-in-law died and the day that my wife,
Esther, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The high point was
definitely my unauthorized marriage to Esther, which has sustained
me ever since.
Q. What does your first day of freedom look
like?
A. I want to be alone with Esther, to talk to her.
Without time constraints, without constant supervision. I want to
embrace Esther and kiss her the way a man should when he is holding
his reason for living in his arms. I will take her by the hand and
walk toward our future together, under an incredibly blue Jewish
sky. I hope to create a Jewish home and family in Israel.
Q. And your longer-range goals?
A. I want to be a productive Israeli. I would love
to pursue projects involving effective utilization of water and
energy, and I study these issues in depth in prison to prepare for
that day. I very much want to create a work environment for me in
our home in Israel, as a means of enabling me to be close to
Esther. In this way and through these efforts, I intend to leave a
better legacy for the name Jonathan Pollard than I have done until
now.
Q. What concerns you most in the Middle
East?
A. I am especially troubled by Iran’s march to
nuclear weaponry. I realize that this is a function of its quest to
secure domestic energy needs, but the dark side is definitely the
destructive powers they covet acquiring. In the '30s Hitler told
everyone who would listen what he wanted to do to both the world’s
democracies and to the Jewish people. Few paid attention to his
threats. Today we all have a second chance to prevent the kind of
death and insanity represented by Iran’s current leadership before
they have a chance to carry out their wild threats. But the world
needs the will to enforce effective economic embargoes and
sanctions and the willingness to act immediately to prevent the
Iranian nuclear option. This is an American challenge more than any
other.
Q. What’s your take on the war in
Iraq?
A. I think it is incredible that this is the very
first American President since John F. Kennedy who has made
building democracies around the world a national U.S. priority.
People may disagree over the tactics, but I don’t see how anyone
can deny that this is one of the noblest goals that America can
possibly have.
Q. Do I detect a positive reading for
President Bush?
A. I have no doubt the president means well. He is
trying to do his best in the face of very difficult challenges. I
think we should cut him a little slack as he does his utmost to
strategically defend the United States both domestically and
internationally.
Q. What message would you like to send the
people reading this?
A. I am asking every single person to become
actively involved to help secure a measure of justice in my case.
Doing so will bring honor to both the United States and the
American Jewish community. I also urge every reader to communicate
their concerns about the injustice of this case to their
congressman and senators. May we, as a people, merit to see justice
speedily and finally done, and the open wound, which has festered
for 20 years, be healed, for the good of both America and
Israel.
