Jonathan Pollard’s Release

Although it is always worthwhile to be reminded not to take the blessings of our freedom and our prosperity for granted, I disagree with the idea that Jonathan Pollard is an appropriate starting point for such a sermon. Pollard, let us not forget, committed the crime of espionage. That is, he stole classified U.S. government information--which he was duty bound to protect-- and sold it to a foreign government. Yes, that foreign government was Israel, an ally, but that did not give Pollard the right to decide what was to be shared with Israel. The U.S. and Israel had and still have a history of robust intelligence sharing; Pollard's actions could have imperiled that. Strong U.S.-Israeli relations are far more important to Israel's security than whatever temporary advantage Israel may have gained from a tidbit of information supplied by Pollard. We should be grateful that Israel and the U.S. were able to overcome the tension created by Pollard and his Israeli handlers. Pollard having served his time is, in my view, a cautionary tale about crime and punishment, in which American Jews who work for the U.S. government should not sacrifice their duty and American patriotism for their admiration of Israel.

You mentioned in your 3.5 minute clip that Jonathan Pollard was released from prison and has restrictions -- and that you understand that. Well, I don't understand that. The man just spent 30 years in prison. Why should he have any more restrictions? If he's free, then he's free. He should be allowed to leave America and make aliyah to Israel now. Not in five years. You talk about complacency. Well your accepting his restrictions is accepting complacency. We all know that these restrictions are because he's Jewish and supporter of Israel. Give Jonathan his true freedom.

that's part of the release terms