Jonathan Pollard
Photo: AP
Olmert. 'Empty words'
Photo: AP
Pollard: Failure to release soldiers unethical
From US jail cell, Israeli spy writes letter to family of kidnapped soldiers berating Olmert's 'empty words'; refers to ceasefire deal excluding soldiers as 'a policy of abandonment'
On Tuesday, three letters arrived from Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard to the families of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
"The real obstacle to our boys' return home is not operational or practical. The only obstacle to their release is ethical failure and the absence of mutual responsibility in Israel," he wrote.
Pollard, held in an American prison for the past 21 years, sent the letters from his jail cell in Batner Federal Prison in North Carolina, via the committee to bring Jonathan Pollard home.
In his opening remarks, Pollard expressed empathy and declared that, since the soldiers were first kidnapped, he has not been able to stop thinking about them and praying for their safe return.
Empty moral stance
Nonetheless, Pollard stated that he was pessimistic regarding their return: "From the moment that I heard Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's declaration that Israel would not agree to any ceasefire deal with Hizbullah without first securing the release of the kidnapped soldiers, your beloved sons, I knew immediately that these were merely empty words.""You ask why? Because a war to release hostages requires a strong moral stance, it requires a commitment to the nation, it requires a moral stance of the kind that the state of Israel seems to have lost many years ago."
Pollard cited other instances of what he referred to as ethical failure, including the inability to secure the release of soldiers Zachary Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, Guy Hever and Ron Arad, and the abandonment of injured soldier Madhat Yusuf at Joseph's tomb. "This is the same ethical failure that led to the dismantling and destruction of Gush Katif and the negligence regarding the residents in northern Israel."
'Policy of abandonment must stop'
"Only a short while ago, the 30 year anniversary of the Entebbe campaign was honored," Pollard wrote. "This illustrates the fact that 30 years ago, despite the lack of the technological means in Israel's possession today, the nation succeeded in rescuing hostages."
"When the nation of Israel really wanted something with all of their soul, we always succeeded. When we failed to achieve our national objectives, it was almost always a result of one thing – failure of our national-ethical stance," he continued.
Pollard concluded the letter with a prayer for the soldiers' safe and quick return and wrote "we cannot, we must not, allow the policy of abandonment to continue...We must not refrain from speaking out because, without pointing at the roots of the problem, we will not arrive at a solution."
He signed the letter "With love and blessings, Jonathan Pollard, Batner Prison, North Carolina."
