US has done more favors for Israel than any one nation has ever done for another. I cannot believe this writer thinks US owes Israel anything. Israel owes US about 1 million favors.

It is the jews that owe a debt to the US. No wonder most American dislike and distrust israel. Have the jew ever thanked the American taxpayer for the billion israel has recieved -NO!! Pollard is an American issue, israel should keep it's nose out. Pollard is a American tratior who happens to be jewish--may he rot for another 26 years. He is swine.

Is this some sort of joke or are Israelis totally out of touch with the way other people think? Pollard is an American. He is a traitor. He is no friend of the American people. If the American people ( i.e. POLLARD'S people ) are not rising up en masse demanding his release then what the hell does it have to do with Israel? America needs to release Pollard to make amends to Israel? Honestly you could not make this stuff up. Israel sucks tax-payer money out of America like no other developed country on earth. America NEEDS to do nothing for Israel. Talk about ungrateful. America should end aid to Israel and spend the money on its poor people

"Nevertheless, it is now clear that in passing information to an American ally about dangerous nations that threatened Israel’s security, Pollard thought he was acting in the best interest of both the United States and Israel." ... Pollard also stole the codes and architectural description of the US Military surveillance system in the ME. Pollard also stole docs related to the Soviet Union.

"most experts now agree that the punishment of a life sentence that Pollard received was most definitely not at all proportionate to the crimes that he was convicted of"..... this is true of politicians but not the vast majority of people in the CIA, FBI and US Military.

"As is well documented by this point, President Obama has not missed an opportunity to insult the State of Israel."... Obama has many times praised Israel in public and sgtrongly defended Israel at the UN so this statement is obviously a lie.

"Not only was this a biased policy that forbade Jews from building in their ancestral homeland while allowing Palestinians to continue to grow and expand their communities without any restrictions"....... If type of people were allowed to build in their ancestral homeland the world would be at constant war. How many American Jews would allow Native Americans to build on their property in NYC ? Grow up man.... ancestral homelands do not mean you have the right to build today...

"More than any past president, President Obama needs to make amends to the people of Israel by releasing Jonathan Pollard."..... It is in the national interest of the US to negotiate a 2 state settlement among Jews and Pals.... We will not make amends to you for following our interests.... We give you billions each year and do zillions of favors for you... perhaps you should consider returning the favor.

"The time is now for President Peres to directly approach his friend President Obama and simply demand Jonathan Pollard be immediately released following the White House ceremony in his honor last week."....... You know nothing about how international relations work.... security dependent client states do not demand that Superpower nations serve them..... you are a fool.

Danny Danon is the same MK that boycotted the 4th of July. Americans will not forget that when you make PM one day. Your racist views of Barack Obama are sickening and your opinion truly reflects the people that elected you. To some how try to blame this on Barack Obama is beyond absurd! Israel is 100% responsible for the breach of that trust and no one else.

jews have a long way to go to become truly free instead of dzimmis and olmerts begging the US and europe. Peres can get a medal for longevity but not for merit as his olso delusions have caused many israeli deaths and serious injuries.And there is no point going on because you know the story. Whatever the bottom line on Obama, he showed a problem by shying away from putin when he had to look him in the eyes and not back up over the disagreement. and putin knows that he intimidated obama and that is dangerous. fortuanately israel has guys like lieberman, ahronovitch, landau, and some in the idf who will not be intimidated and would stand up to anyone. And they may have to tell putin no when he comes to visit cause he is playing the old soviet double dealing game. and weinstein should think twice about indicting lieberman cause who would be left to deffend israel-merridor- a clean well-intentionned lawyer who is weak like olmert and can't take pressure, kadimites who are weak as hell, barak who folds like a cheap suit, and yishai who runs to yosef to get the word of god whole fires are devouring carmel. peres, ben ami, beilin, livni, liel, ross, kurtzer, marcus, verter, oz, burg--these are the chosen???!!- these are weaklings who walk into the gas chamber to avoid taking the hard road. And of course ynet won't print this because they are a bunch of weaklings too.

America owes you NOTHING, you rotten little ingrates. How about Israel repays the American taxpayer for the $115 billion it has received since WWII. Your day of reckoning is coming.

what debt does usa owe jews that outshines others here you bigot.

Please, don't bring the 'Jews' into this. Israel risked its whole relationship with the US using this shmo. We fucked up. Big time. The US owes us nothing. They continue to supply us with cutting edge weaponry and support. We work with them on groundbreaking tech like Stuxnet - they do not 'owe' us Pollard.

Who can look at a video of the members of Congress giving Bibi standing ovations like a pack of trained dogs without wanting to weep for what Israel has inflicted on the American people. America once had potential to be a great country. Look at it now. An Israeli colony brought to its knees by the likes of Pollard and his dual-loyalty ilk.

Whenever Israel is held to account in the UN the vote is always every other country on earth ''for'' versus Israel and the USA ''against''. Every country on earth except America condemns Israel for disobeying international law. In return for this inexplicable support from America which flies in the face of sanity, Mr Danon is welcome to show his eternal gratitude by refraining from telling us about America's ( or Obamma's ) ''debt to the Jewish people''. If there was such a debt * which there is not! ) then releasing Pollard would not repay it because Jewish Americans are AMERICANS. As Americans they should be no more concerned about Pollard than any other Americans are. To most AMERICANS ( including Jewish ones) Pollard is a traitor. How is it repaying a debt to the ''Jewish people'' to release this filthy dual-loyalty scumbag?

Jonathan Pollard deserves to be freed immediately. He was sentenced for far longer than any other Americans who spied for US allies. I believe antisemitism was the reason Caspar Weinberger recommended a life sentence to the court. Pollard broke the law because he believed that the US' witholding top secret info about Iraq from Israel was harmful to Israel's security. Previous presidents failed to do the right thing and let Pollard go. As for the malicious, talkbacks - antisemitism is plain for all good people to see. Israel prevented the Soviet Union from being able to dominate the Mideast , by defeating the Soviet's Arab client states, Egypt, and Syria in 1967. Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear program and facilities in 1981 and thus allowed the US to go to war against Saddam Hussein in 1991 and liberate Kuwait i.e. protect US oil interets in the region. Israel was condemned at the UN security council including by the US. Israel also destroyed Syria's nuclear program in 2007 thus preventing Syria being an even greater threat than it is today. Without that, the international community could not even contemplate forcing Assad out of power. Yes Israel owes a lot to the US but we owe Israel a very great deal. Israel is America's only real ally and friend in the region.

words for the author and Israel. We don't owe you ANYTHING. You owe us everything, including your country and survival. And oh, you know what to do with your votes too.

Its time for Israel to break free from American hegemony, and refuse to accept any more financial aid and political diktat.

i would not call 79% of americans (both jews and non jews) that fully support israel in the latest pew polls.....dislike and distrust israel, as you claim. most american do like and do trust israel and stand with it..all 79% of them according to recent polls conducted in the usa. so, what is left, is for you to speak only for yourself and not for the majority of usa citizenry that doesn't share your views at all. hameed aboughaze, iranian los angeles

from 0-Bama unless Pollard will be released soon and be a real hero like Elie Wiesel. But he can't. He is the epitome of a subservient diplomat.

Yea it's about time to let this Bozo the clown go, sad that although treasonous this confused man actually lacked faith in Israel and the U.S. Perhaps if Mr. Pollard shows us some remorse he will be released and released from the stigma of being a poor excuse for a spy. The key to this man's freedom is just a little remorse you can bet.

1. Israel has supplied valuable ihntelligence and Soviet weaponry to the United States -- not the least a MiG-21 for the United States to test during the time its pilots were confronting them in Vietnam. At the UN, Israel votes more consistenly with the United States than does any other country. Israel is the United States' sole democratic anchor in the Middle East. 2. Pollard's sentence is longer than that of Communist spies who passed U.S. communications codes to the USSR while our pilots were fighting the Soviet ally, North Vietnam. Most of all, Pollard agreed to cooperate with the investigation against him in return for NOT receiving a life sentence! The United States violated its promise. It did so after a note to thecourt from Caspar Weinberger that never has been disclosed to Pollard's atttorneys, contrary to U.S. court procedure. It is believed to contain allegations that Pollard's document theft caused the death of U.S. agents in the Soviet bloc -- deaths that since have been attributed to actions by Soviet spy Aldrich Ames. Several former high U.S. officials were were leaders in espionage and defense activities have called Pollard's continued incarceration unjust and advocated for his release.

He broke the law, so the US have a right to imprison him. We should stop complaining about it. Who cares about him, he also sold intelligence to Australia. He was just doing it for the money.

mr Danon once again embodies the meaning of the word chutzpah. He is a creepy extreme rightwing populist and his actions and words confirm this time after time....

it is clear to anyone not willfully blind. It is Israel that owes the US BIG-TIME not the other way around....as usual Israel acts too big for it's shoes especially in the Pollard Case ( he is a SPY)

the best thing is to eat two pouns of tahini the evening before. So you can relax and enjoy the ride...

Very well writtern article! Prison sentences are supposed to be proportional to the harm done. This was clearly not the case for Jonathan Pollard. He was convicted of spying for a friendly country with no intent to harm the United States. Jonathan Pollard already has served more than 3 times the amount of time that others convicted of the same crime where the average sentence is 7 years or less in prison. After more than 27 years, Jonathan Pollard has served his time. This miscarriage of justice is an American civil rights issue and not just a Jewish/Israel issue. If Amercia and Israel are "friends", then friends should forgive. The time is overdue to commute Jonathan Pollard's time to the time served.

You make no demands upon us. You were demanding we open up a war in the ME to save you from your nuke fears, and Obama correctly told you to hush and sit still. You've been forever demanding the release of the traitor sneak, and Obama finally settled the matter by telling you exactly where to stick that fussing. You be damn thankful for the ocean of favor & largesse we already grant you, and have a care how you step with the US. Pollard stays in his cage for as long as we see fit, understood?