​Obama administration torpedoes bid to free Pollard
U.S. Justice Department parole board denies request to free imprisoned
Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, with American officials saying Pollard's
release would "constitute contempt for the severity of the offense and
promote a lack of respect for the law."
By Yori Yalon & Israel Hayom Staff - Israel Hayom - November 20, 2014
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=21601A U.S. Justice Department parole board has denied a request to free
imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, according to the Committee to Free
Jonathan Pollard.

Pollard recently submitted a quiet request to be released under restricted
conditions. However, American officials rejected the request, saying that
freeing Pollard at this time would "constitute contempt for the severity of
the offense and promote a lack of respect for the law."

Pollard, 60, was arrested by U.S. authorities in 1985 and later sentenced to
life in prison. In recent years, numerous former U.S. government
officials -- including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and
George Schultz and former CIA director James Woolsey -- have openly and
unequivocally called for Pollard's release, saying his punishment was
disproportionate for the crime he committed, of spying for a friendly
country.

Last March, Pollard's wife, Esther Pollard, personally appealed to U.S.
President Barack Obama to free her husband.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said on Wednesday that the U.S.
government's rigid position on Pollard "crosses every moral boundary."

"It seems to me that mercy has completely fallen off the ladder of [the U.S.
government's] values," Edelstein said.

Edelstein, who was the first Israeli minister to visit Pollard in jail,
said, "Every day that passes increases the fear that Jonathan, given his
health condition, might not survive his time in prison. If, heaven forbid,
this transpires, it would be remembered for generations as a breach in the
Israel-U.S. relationship."

Pollard's supporters had been optimistic that his request for freedom would
be granted this time, given that he was nearly released last spring as part
of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and that top U.S. intelligence
officials do not oppose his release, having said it was not pertinent to
them.

The Committee to Free Jonathan Pollard expressed shock and anger at the U.S.
government's decision to prevent Pollard's release.

"The heart breaks at the thought that Jonathan will not be freed after 30
years in prison," the committee said. "The denial of the request proves that
the regular bureaucratic path will not lead to justice for Jonathan."

The committee said Obama should use the right given to him by the U.S.
Constitution to cut short an inmate's prison sentence "to redress the
injustice" done to Pollard. "The regular procedure will not lead to this,"
the committee said.

Pollard has spent half his life in prison and his health has deteriorated
significantly in recent years. He has required urgent medical treatment
several times due to a life-threatening health condition, and has undergone
surgery to stabilize his health.