Jerusalem – President Shimon Peres’s office released a statement Tuesday downplaying initial White House reactions from US President Barack Obama to his formal request to release Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard.
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US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor told reporters Monday that the United States had not altered its stance on keeping Pollard behind bars.
But Peres’s office said he had not received an official response from the White House and that Vietor’s statement was issued before Obama had made a decision.
Committee For Jonathan Pollard spokesman Adi Ginsburg said Vietor’s statement merely reflected the White House’s policy until now.
“President Peres issued his request officially and personally to president Obama and we are all waiting for the official and personal response of Obama directly to Peres,” Ginsburg said. “President Obama is the only one with the authority to commute sentences, so any declarations by any other officials are irrelevant.”
In his missive to Obama, Peres thanked him for the great friendship that his government has shown to the State of Israel and emphasized the concern felt in Israel in general and by members of Pollard’s family in particular about his deteriorating health.
Peres noted that in view of Pollard’s poor health coupled with the 26 and a half years that he had served, it would be viewed as a supreme humanitarian gesture if Obama would commute his sentence.
The heads of the Pollard caucus in the Knesset, MKs Ronit Tirosh (Kadima) and Uri Ariel (National Union), urged Peres to reconsider accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama is he rejects his request for Pollard’s freedom.
Tirosh said she had been brought to tears by Vietor’s statement, because she had hoped that Peres could succeed due to his close ties with Obama.
“The White House’s answer is disappointing,” Tirosh said. “Pollard is apparently just a political card for them. If I were Peres, I might not take the medal. I can’t understand such wickedness.”
Ariel said the quick response from the White House’s spokesmen indicated that their behavior was “insensitive and borderline cruel.” But he said he still had hope that Obama’s official response would be positive.
Whatever you think of Pollard (and Rubashkin, for that matter), even if you think their punishments should be 10 times what they got, you have to admit, they are being treated differently from goyim.
B”H Happiness be moed and thereupon until the heights of the Rebbe Shimon quality of fellowship that superseded the need for din. This Peres character has said a lot but his yokels avoid responsibility for the injustices towards many in Israel not considered the darlings of the elite here. Their ruining everything with their arrogance and should be tried for interfering with the Justice Department, and put in their place for once. I want Pollard out as much as anybody else does, but would judge the case by its facts and not the drama of clown class running the Israeli government, and there’s worse to expect from the uneducated in the upcoming generation. We are facing worldwide religious hatred because of the impudence of Israelis government officials placing their supposed military prowess against the opinion of any fair-minded human being. See you at the spirits heard from Mount Meron to the four corners of the earth and the One above.
Obama – humanitarian? The only humanitarian thing Obama can grasp is that Israel must make concessions to the Palestinians and to supply tyhem with everything from food to energy to building supplies, enabling them to launch more rockets and bombs at them. I have no suspicion that Obama is ready to consider humanitarian anything that will benefit a Jew.
After 26.5 years, the continued incarceration of Pollard, who represents no threat to anyone, is merely being continued, in an effort to use Pollard as a political pawn, or a bargaining chip in negotiations, vis-a-vis dealing with the Palestinians. Pollard has become Obama’s trump card, vis-a-vis dealing with the Israelis, and extracting as much as possible, out of them. This bubba meises that we heard in the past from Clinton and others, that there would be mass resignations (from the Director of the CIA), and others was nothing but a smoke screen. Incidentally, the Director of the CIA, George Tenet (who allegedly threatened to resign if Pollard was released) was criticized by the 9/11 Commission, for not being better aware of terrorist activity.
I think Obama should let Pollard out now in order to get the Jewish vote in November. But I think it is very unlikely that he will do so because his advisors will advise him not to. Mrs Clinton could increase her popularity by pushing for his release but her biases will probably get in the way of doing the right thing.
I have been accused here on VIN once or twice of a “my country – right or wrong” mentality, which perhaps might be true. However, in the case of President Shimon Peres I confess to having mixed feelings about his interpretation of his presidential role.
Past presidents of the State of Israel were, let’s face it, figurehead heads of state in the style of Queen Elizabeth in the UK: all show, but no executive powers. Even Ezer Weizman ז”ל, who was a larger than life גענץ הקנקר, knew as soon as he entered the presidential mansion to keep his mouth firmly shut. He got on with his duties of welcoming ambassadors and visiting foreign Jewish עסקנים, but that was that.
Peres – as a working politician – IMHO served Israel superlatively. Yes, yes; I know that many of you will rush to disagree, but that’s what I – and a great many other Israelis – think and believe. But this guy just does not know when to let go of operating the strings of Israeli foreign policy. It could be said that he has allowed his former political prestige to be utilised in the name of הסברה, but the time has come for him to let “real”, active pols do all the dirty work of government.
!מועדים לשמחה לכולם