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Sunday, February 16, 2020
Conference of Presidents baffled by US refusals to release Pollard

Conference of Presidents baffled by US refusal to release Jonathan Pollard
The Pollard issue has frequently been raised with the American authorities
by both Israeli and American Jewish leaders, but to no avail.
By GREER FAY CASHMAN The Jerusalem Post FEBRUARY 16, 2020 20:52
https://www.jpost.com/International/Conference-of-Presidents-baffled-by-US-refusals-to-release-Pollard-617775

Members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations said they are baffled by the ongoing refusal of the US
government to allow Jonathan Pollard to move to Israel.
"It is brought up every time we go for a meeting to the White House,"
Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice president of the organization, said at
a media conference in Jerusalem on Sunday prior to the opening of the annual
CoP conference at the Inbal Hotel. "We have been baffled by it for years."

Pollard, 65, is a former civilian defense analyst who was released from
prison in November 2015, after serving 30 years of a life sentence for
passing classified material to Israel, an ally of the US.

Others who committed treason for passing classified material to enemies of
the United States, served far less time and were permitted to leave the
country.

Pollard, who received Israeli citizenship in absentia, has said he would
like nothing more than to spend his remaining years in Israel and to bring
back his seriously ill wife, Esther, who left Israel to join him in America
after he was paroled, but the Americans will not allow him to leave.

The Pollard issue has frequently been raised with the American authorities
by both Israeli and American Jewish leaders, but to no avail.

In relation to the CoP visit to Saudi Arabia prior to coming to Israel,
chairman Arthur Stark said the conference has been engaging with the Gulf
states for a number of years and attributed the willingness of some of these
states to engage with Israel due to their commonality of interests, most
notably the threat from Iran.

Aside from that, the younger generations in the Arab world are looking at
the Internet and seeing what is happening in the world. Stark said they are
saying to their leadership: "What about us?"
"They see America and Israel as shining examples of what can be, and show
signs of embracing innovation," he said.

Listing Qatar, Morocco and Egypt as some of the countries in the region CoP
has visited over the past 20 years, Hoenlein said: "It's a long-term
investment in building confidence and contributing to the region. We want to
be responsible and constructive players."

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