Why it took 30 years for Pollard to go free [Part 1]

In 2002, reporter Edwin Black was the first journalist to visit Jonathan Pollard in prison; he reviewed documents relating to the case and extensively interviewed Pollard’s attorneys as well as then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger, and many other key figures.

Thirteen years later, as the U.S. prepares to release Pollard from prison and into a five-year probation, many people are puzzled by why Pollard was imprisoned for 30 years — three times longer than far more egregious offenders.

The Jewish Star is reprinting key parts of Black’s original 2002 article. In it, Black resolves some of the questions puzzling those who have long advocated for Pollard’s release.

Click here for Part II.

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While no one will ever resolve the endless Pollard intrigues, there is one haunting question towering above all others: Just why has Jonathan Pollard been imprisoned so long?

Pollard was convicted of a single count of disclosing documents to an ally foreign government, in violation of Title 18, section 794c. While the far more serious crime of selling classified information to an enemy nation violates section 794b and generally fetches a life sentence, those who divulge the nation’s secrets to allies under section 794c have always received lesser sentences. 

Anti-Semitism has been ruled out by numerous Jewish organizations. Pundits, prominent and obscure, suggest the spy’s knowledge of America’s secrets are so sensitive, his enemies so powerful, the politics so volatile, his crime so severe, that he should never be released.