Washington – The White House’s switchboard was shut down on Sunday after receiving an overload of calls urging US president Barack Obama to release Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard from prison for 24 hours to attend the funeral of his father.
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A campaign on Facebook urged people to call the White House switchboard because the White House comment line is not open on Sundays. After receiving an overload of calls, the White House switchboard automatically shifted to a message stating that the comment line was now closed.
After more than a week of pleading, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s advisers agreed on Sunday to issue a diplomatic request via Israel’s embassy in Washington asking for Pollard to be able to attend the funeral.
Two hundred protested outside the American embassy in Tel Aviv, urging Obama to allow Pollard to attend the funeral and accusing Obama of being heartless for not allowing Pollard what is called compassionate leave to be able to say goodbye to his father before he died.
“Free Pollard – yes we can,” the protesters shouted at the rally, which was attended by MKs.
An uprising. Huh? Do they think its gonna work? Fegeteboutit.
He certainly has the right to attend his father’s funeral
i hope it does if it was u you would beg to go # 1
Whats with this president?
Must he only think o fhimself and free Jonathan when it will boost his polls at the voting statoins.
Fre him now!!!! now !
This is a tremendous chilul hashem. We shouldn’t be behaving like el sharpten etc. There are ways to send a request and even protest. This behavior is considered terrorizing.
Stop making this into an Obama thing. Neither Bill Clinton nor the heliger George W. Bush, who between them sat in the White House for 16 years, had any intention of letting Pollard out. And for the information of most of the “Daled Amos” Yidden who comment here, most Jews could not care less about whether Obama lets Pollard out. It’s an issue of concern to a small sliver of Orthodox Jews. I’m not saying we’re wrong to want him out, but if you think this is an issue most people, Jews or non-Jews, care about, you’re fooling yourself.
With all due respect #5 is wrong. This is not chilul. A great chilul Hashem is when we don’t stick together, when we don’t do what we can to free one of our own. A great chilul Hashem is when we hide our faces in fear of what other people will think. Call the White House.It isn’t terrorism to make a telephone call. It isn’t our fault the switchboard can’t handle the calls. If this is the only non-violent non-destructive way to get the president’s attention, it’s what we should do.
This guy was eligible for parole over 10 years ago but hasn’t showed up once, his partner in crime got out – why should I help someone who won’t help themselves?
אויב ישראל וואלט ווען געהאט אביסל מענטשהייט, בשעת פאלארד האט געקלאפט אויפן טיר, און געוויינט וואו א קינד לאז מיך אריין לאז מיך אריין, וואלט מען נישט געדארפט איבערדרייען וואשינגטאון היינט, זיי האבן זיך אויפגעפירט צו אים וואו א הינט, זיי האבן זיך געמאכט א בלעכענעם פנים, כאילו זיי ווייסען נישט ווער ער איז…. איזראעל האט דעמאלס מחלל ה’ שמים געווען 2 מאל, איינס פארן שפיאנירען און זייער מאמע לאנד, און צווייטענס פארן ווייזען פאר די גאנצע וועלט, אז זיי רעכענען זיך נישט מיט די אייגענע מענטשען, שעם אן איזראעל
TO #5 chaim
Perhaps the reason Clinton or the “heilger’ Bush didn’t pardon him is because Casper Weinberger gave the sentencing judge a letter that Pollard couldn’t see and therefore could not defend himself against. It later came out that Weinberger accused Pollard of giving the names of the CIA agents in the USSR to the USSR and therefore they were all liquidated. It later become known that this was done by the CIA mole Mr. Ames. Therefore, though Pollard did a crime and deserves to be punished, but he should be punished for the crime he did not for something done by someone else. The Walker family spied for Russia and were not given a sentence as harsh as Pollard. pollard did not damage to the US security, he simply gave israel infrmation about the Arab countries (which by the way the US had promised to give them, but didn’t)
If there is more to his crime, he must be told what it is so he can defend himself against it. The US has many times not put on trial a spy,(and just deported him) because then they would have to tell what they knew of his espionage since he must be faced with it in court since he has the right to defend himself against the charges.
The shutting down of the White House switchboard on behalf of the criminal J.J. Pollard is an act of the ultimate Chilul HaShem.
And the stimulei for this were the two “Religious Zionist” Rabbis: Pessach Lerner of the “Young Israel” movement, who lives in the Five Towns, New York, and Herschel Shachter of the “Yeshiva University”, who lives in the Washington Heights section of New York City.
With more “Religious Zionist” Rabbis like Lerner and Shachter, Medinat Yisrael would have never been settled, ley aleinu.
It’s beyond conprehension that he would not be allowed out to attend his father’s funeral given the level of concern shown by jews all across this country and beyond. Also one would have thought that even if Obama would not pardon him, at least to let him out for 24 hours, its a ‘kleinekeit’ (a small request)and that would have given Obama a huge boost from within the jewish community. One has to wonder why Obama is not seizing the opportunity where he has so much to gain and so little to lose.
Charlie, you’re missing the point.
Pollard was never accused of anything more than spying for a friendly country, If the government thinks he did severe damage to our security, he must be told what it is he is being accused of so he can defend himself. The prosecutors , who were dealing with what he was accused of had him plead guilty & agreed NOT to ask for a life sentence.Weinbereger, behind the back of the accused, told the judge charges that the accused was not told about (and were later proven wrong) and that brought about the life sentence. If you cannot tell the accused what the charges are, he must be let go, as has been done with real Russian spies.
Do you finally get it?