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ISN'T ANYBODY OUT THERE PAYING Attention?
by Moshe Ha’levi

I am inclined to support the Republican Party in general and President Bush in particular, but I am profoundly troubled by the injustice of our government's continuing to hold Jonathan Pollard in prison. Others convicted of passing classified information to an ally consistently have been released in fewer than 4 years. Jonathan was promised a short sentence in exchange for a confession, and then had the deal pulled out from under him; he played the plea bargain game, and we then changed the
rules. As you may know, Mr. Pollard has spent almost 19 years in prison. Robert Kim, a mole for South Korea who committed the same offense as Jonathan, was released this year after only 7 years of prison time.

I frequently hear Republicans proclaim that Israel is one America's best friends. I hear talk of shared values, love of democracy, and commitment to upholding civil liberties. The continued imprisonment of Jonathan defies reason and logic; he committed a crime and has paid the
price nearly five-fold. I can only conclude that those in power for the past 15 years have transferred onto Jonathan a certain negativity they are too powdered, starched, and pressed to otherwise express. Jonathan Pollard is getting the same "no end in sight" imprisonment as Sirhan Sirhan, Aldridge Ames, and Charles Manson. When placed in that light
and measured against the crimes committed, the absence of
proportionality becomes glaringly clear.

These news items you, as Public Liaison@WhiteHouse.Gov, send to us Jews on a regular basis are a nice reminder that the White House is concerned about our vote. I live in Colorado, a state which most pollsters claim is up for grabs this fall. I will not vote for the President (and may
not vote at all) if President Bush does not release Mr. Pollard before Election Day. Your efforts of late obviously are intended to demonstrate GOP sensitivity toward Jewish issues so that Jews line up behind the GOP. If the President would like my vote on that basis, he will grant clemency to Jonathan Pollard and let him go!

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