The Obama Administration is reportedly close to an extraordinary deal to get Israel back to the negotiations table: it is going to release Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard. One could question why Israel needs any inducement to negotiate with the Palestinians for its own peace and more importantly why the U.S. is willing to free spies to get two other governments to negotiate. Notably, for years, Israel denied that Pollard was their spy — considered by many as compounding the dishonesty of spying on your closest ally. It was not until 1999 – over ten years later — that Israel admitted to the U.S. that he was their spy and that, while the U.S. was giving (and continued to give) billions in aid to Israel, it was maintaining spies in our government. Pollard’s release is rumored to be part of a release of prisoners from Israeli prisons to jump start a new round of negotiations.
Pollard was recruited by Israeli Air Force officer Aviem Sella, who was ordered to develop him as a spy by the Air Force Chief of Staff himself. The Israelis paid him $10,000 cash and expensive jewelry to betray his country. They also paid him some $1,500 per month for further espionage. He also alleged obtained information for South Africa and attempted to sell information to Pakistan. He was even tied to stealing information related to China for his wife to use in her business dealings. He was captured on videotape stealing classified information.
In interviews that may have backfired at the sentencing, Pollard and his wife Anne publicly admitted to spying for Israel in seeking to gain support from the American Jewish community. In a 60 Minutes interview, Anne said, “I feel my husband and I did what we were expected to do, and what our moral obligation was as Jews, what our moral obligation was as human beings, and I have no regrets about that.” That argument has resonated with some and there has been a strong movement to free Pollard within the American Jewish community. Many argue that he agreed to a plea bargain but was given no benefit of the plea by the sentencing judge. Many have also argued for years that the sentence is unduly harsh. Alan Dershowitz has been one of the oct vocal in writing :
[E]veryone seems frightened to speak up on behalf of a convicted spy. This has been especially true of the Jewish leadership in America. The Pollards are Jewish. … The Pollards are also Zionists, who—out of a sense of misguided “racial imperative” (to quote Jonathan Pollard)—seem to place their commitment to Israeli survival over the laws of their own country. … American Jewish leaders, always sensitive to the canard of dual loyalty, are keeping a low profile in the Pollard matter. Many American Jews at the grass roots are outraged at what they perceive to be an overreaction to the Pollards’ crimes and the unusually long sentence imposed on Jonathan Pollard.
For those who see Pollard as a craven traitor, his release to get Israel to negotiate in its own interest may seem a bit curious. It would suggest that you can betray your country but still walk if you spy for a powerful ally. There remains an uncertain line on how our government treats spies and traitors. There are members of Congress who are calling for Edward Snowden to be tried as a traitor and executed or put into jail for life. They insist that by informing the public of abusive surveillance Snowden must rot in jail. Yet, there is not a peep of opposition from Congress over this release. If the act of espionage can be excused when carried out for the right country or with the right motivation, many would expect a pardon for Snowden who appears to have acted without financial payment or inducement by a foreign power.
Secretary of State John Kerry is quoted as saying “It is difficult, it is emotional, it requires huge decisions, some of them with great political difficulty … We are continuing, even now … to find the best way forward.” Of course, many would question why other criminals are not given this “get of jail” card due to their connection to Israel. We recently discussed the equally (though distinguishable case) of the Sheinbein case. The trade of Pollard for Peace raises the question whether Aldrich Ames or Jim Nicholson should now be traded to get Russia to the negotiating table with the Ukraine.
An act of clemency based on some mistake or injustice in the sentencing would be understandable, including a decision that espionage sentences should be shorter. (Indeed, for Pollard advocates it would have been far better to argue those points than to tie the release to the peace talks. That nexus might play well in Israel but not quite as well in the U.S.) However, the sell the release as an exchange for — or facilitating — negotiations is difficult to square with other cases. Indeed, it goes against the trend of cases brought by the Justice Department which now invariably pushes for the equivalent of life in cases in a variety of national security cases involving material support allegations against Arab defendants and others. Consider the case of Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning) who was 35 years for leaking information in the Wikileaks publications. Manning was acting in what he considered the public interest as did Snowden but there is no groundswell of sympathy in Congress.
The deal also raises serious question about the true commitment of Israel to a negotiation when it has to be induced with such a gift just to sit down at the table. Peace is in Israel’s own interest, right?
What do you think about such a quid pro quo?
Source: CNN
Waldo, you are not only funny but your take on Nick Spinelli is right on target. The poor man evidently never recovered from voting for Pres. Obama and he can’t seem to make a comment without some jab or stab at the president. I am not a big supporter of this president either but blaming him for the BP spill: yikes. As for Pollard, pardon me for not trusting either the Palestinian nor the Israeli government. Lastly, Stephen Luftstein has detected some tendency in Prof. Turley’s postings which have seemed to him somewhat biased against the Jewish people in general. I agree with him on that. I wish I had time to review the instances I even commented on it right on this site. However, let me make it clear that I reserve the right to criticize the extreme religious right wing Jewish leaders and their followers both here and in Israel. This goes for all religious extremists BTW.
8 US soldiers died trying to rescue the State Dept. employees captured AND TOTURED by the man now headed to the UN. You are a horrible waiter. Maybe you need to go back to bussing tables.
Nick Spinelli
Stay on topic. I withdraw BP from the discussion. Your guy was a hero, OK!! Now, what about the other 800lb. gorilla’s in the room?
Interesting analysis on “worst president in a lifetime”.
Reagan, who sold missles to Iran, was president in the 80s. But he doesn’t count because Spinelli didn’t vote for him. (Note to historians:: Reagan exempted from list of terrible presidents as Spinelli didn’t vote for him.)
Then there is W, and Cheney, and Rumsfield, who lied us into wars that killed thousands of our men and women, cost the Treasury billions, okayed torture, and killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s, but somehow Obama is worse because Pollard may be a bargaining chip in restarting stalled talks and assorted other high crimes and misdemeanors that by some terrible stroke of luck has kept our boots off the ground in assorted ME countries. Truthfully, I don’t know where Spinelli ranks W as Bush remained unmentioned. Maybe he, too, is not part of Spinelli’s rankings of presidents. A ranking that is determined by whether Spinelli voted for him….or maybe Spinelli just forgot W was a president.
Solid historical analysis there, Spinelli. And only just a few gaps.
But maybe I am being unfair in the ranking and compariison of presidents. Maybe the only fair way to do it is to ONLY compare Obama vs Obama vs Obama. There! That ought to fix it!
Now that’s the way history should be done.
Oh dagda. I’m sorry. We’ve confused you.
That guy in the chair? I don’t think he calls himself a liberal.
I’ve got this crazy picture in my head. A guy in his underwear, sprawled in his Lazy-Boy, four or five empty beer bottles sitting at his feet, yelling at his wife for a sandwich and another beer to wash it down…..
Ahhh yes. The picture of rational thought.
Maybe we could have a selfie?
Waldo,
That would be the picture of rational thought for liberals. Conservatives would be too busy working.
Spinelli, aren’t you a history teacher? No Americans were killed in the takeover of the American embassy during the Iran hostage crisis.
Spinelli, your remark at 7:08 is unfathomable. I would describe it as bullying and thuggish. Surely that is not the impression you wish to leave with us.
People who take over US Embassies and kill State Dept. employees are terrorists. Liberal Dem pols call them terrorist. WTF do you call them?
I get it Waldo, you are in denial and playing the “Well, Republicans are worse,” game. I contend this is the worst president in a lifetime. I never voted for Reagan, I did vote for Obama. Except, I learn from my mistakes. You pissed on both legs. Now, where’s my sandwich!!!
Have to laugh about your “terrorist” tizzy. While that guy was probably just out of his teens, our PRESIDENT was selling arms to Iran and Oliver North was giving the money to murderers of nuns. But I guess that is similar.
P.S. I am sorry I missed your brilliant analysis at 1:30. You can do a do-over and add BENGHAZI!! I wonder when we shall soon be reading of “King” Obama in all the scholarly journals
And make me a sandwich..I’m hungry!!
Spinelli. Follow the bouncing ball…
Spinelli wrote, in total, @ 3:44
The BP response was fitting a constitutional professor, not a leader. BP and poor govt. regulation was the reason for the disaster and the main culprit, w/o question. The response by Obama was bumbling akin to the Bush/Nagin response to Katrina, albeit that was involving human life and much worse.
I responded @ 4:29
THEN comes Spinelli’s 4:50 lengthy list.
Quit the instructions until you learn how to tell time.
But you do cut quite a figure on the dance floor.
Professor Turley, as someone who has come to appreciate your equanimity on most issues, and certainly your thouroughness, I must say I’m disappointed in your wild misrepresentations about virtually everything regarding this issue.
First, the “quid pro quo” is NOT about getting Israel back to the negotiating table.
Israel has never LEFT negotiations and has accepted the indefinite extension of the current fruitless talks without ANY requirements or inducements.
The discussion of releasing Pollard is SOLELY to convince Israel to go ahead and release yet ANOTHER group of murderers in Israeli prisons, as an inducement to get the, shall we say, recalcitrant (read obstructionist) so called Palestinians back to the table.
This is no small thing as the previous agreed upon prisoner releases designed to bribe Abbas JUST TO TALK, has wrenched the Israeli public.
They have reached their breaking point, and it is generally accepted that if Netanyahu were to agree to the current prisoner release (and of course the US has told him he cannot release anyone that murdered Americans in Israel, ONLY those that murdered Israeli jews, in itself an offensive position to say the least), that the current coalition would dissolve and Bibi would most likely lose his Prime Ministership.
That’s the first mistake you make, and a huge one, and typical of the type of biased presentation on all things Israel that occurs in the US.
The next issue is that of Pollard himself. His actions CANNOT be forgiven.
However, Pollard has already served longer than ANYONE else convicted of the same crime.
Worse, EVERY major intelligence chief has stated that his sentence was overly harsh and that he should be released.
And this started YEARS ago.
The agreed upon plea bargain was unilaterally thrown out by the judge in the case SOLELY because of an affidavit by Warren Christopher, a well known, virulent antisemite.
The Pollard case is the prime example of the fact that the only socially acceptable form of bigotry left in the United States is antisemitism.
waldo, Read the comments. I included BP in a long list of failures. It was made as a GENERAL point. A royal apologist used it as a distraction. So, I withdrew BP as to hope to keep the discussion focused. I sometimes forget some folks can get distracted by shiny objects. I accept the blame, but hopefully you’ll now get back to foreign policy failures. They are MUCH more important.
Pollard is due for release in 2015. Maybe, just maybe, releasing that tiny shitball a few months early if it convinces Israel to try talking again.
See, its not the worst deal in the world when you look at the actual reality instead of thinking with your little head, which is how we got into this situation in the first place.
Whatever remaining legitimacy the US government has will be stripped away if Pollard is released as part of any Palestinian/Israeli negotiations.
I also submit the harm caused the US by Pollard’s pilfering of sensitive information was so egregious he should not be released from his cage next year in 2015.
Sorry. I didn’t know the rules around here.
Someone interrupts the thread with Katrina and BP, someone responds, and then the interrupter tells the responder to stay on topic. Makes perfect sense.
Stay on topic. I withdraw BP from the discussion. Your guy was a hero, OK!! Now, what about the other 800lb. gorilla’s in the room?
I voted for Obama in 2008. I wised up in 2012. Never in my lifetime, including Carter, have I seen a more woefully inept and dangerous foreign policy as I have seen w/ Obama. The world is laughing and mocking Obama, and us. Just today, Iran selected a known Iranian terrorist, who was involved w/ the taking of our embassy, as THEIR UN AMBASSADOR. In the attempt to give KING OBAMA a legacy, we are bending over and grabbling our ankles. The King wants a Palestinian/Israel agreement..A SMALL ONE, and we turn over a traitor. We want a nuclear “agreement” w/ Iran, we bury our head as they continue to enrich uranium and now this, a terrorist in the UN! I just saw a very liberal NY Dem congressman express outrage that the Administration is considering a visa for this terrorist. We will be cleaning up the mess of this Imperial President for decades!