Yedidya Atlas: Let Jonathan Pollard Go!

Let Jonathan Pollard Go!

By: Yedidya Atlas

It what can only be described as malicious, Marc Goldberg felt the need to vent his spleen against the official Israeli demand to free Jonathan Pollard from his US prison cell. In his Times of Israel article of April 11th, entitled: Pollard’s no Eli Cohen, Mr. Goldberg writes: “It is disgraceful that the crank who lied his way into US Naval intelligence has come to be seen by so many people as a hero. It’s time to wake up and realize that Pollard was not a Zionist hero but a bumbling amateur looking for quick cash.”

Aside from the inaccuracy of his nasty opening sentence, one has to wonder what brought Mr. Goldberg to suddenly write an anti-Pollard diatribe. What master or cause does he believe he serves by dishing up this verbal chametz during this Pesach holiday?

Mr. Goldberg opines that: “The Pollard affair damaged the relationship between Israel and the United States.” Did it really? Clearly not, since before, during and after to the Pollard affair 27 years ago, Israel and the United States have had significant security cooperation on the highest levels – much of which cannot be discussed in public. Nonetheless, Mr. Goldberg continues: “even worse, it has consequences for any US Jews aspiring to a career in the world of intelligence. And from the moment Pollard claimed he had spied for Israel because he was a Jew everyone of the same faith working in intelligence would have become instantly suspect.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. Mr. Goldberg for some reason is unaware of the underlying “let’s get the Jews and Israel” attitude running through certain government agencies in the US and other western countries since before the modern State of Israel was declared. It did not start with Pollard. I suggest he read “The Secret War Against The Jews” by John Loftus and Mark Aarons (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1994) for a background in the bandied about the selective “dual-loyalties” accusations that well preceded Pollard’s arrest and have continued with the witch hunts against AIPAC staffers just a few years ago.

Moreover, Mr. Goldberg's cheap characterization of Pollard as merely some lying “crank” and money driven “bumbling amateur” is out and out drivel. Anyone who knows the truth of what really happened and who was involved with handling Mr. Pollard during this time can attest that Mr. Goldberg is either unfamiliar with the details of the case or has, for some unfathomable reason, an anti-Pollard agenda.

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The author is a veteran journalist specializing in geo-political and geo-strategic affairs in the Middle East. His articles have appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Insight Magazine, Nativ, The Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon. His articles have been reprinted by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the US Congressional Record.
This article first appeared in The Times of Israel.

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