The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has called on US President Barack Obama to commute the sentence of Jonathan Pollard and secure his release during this holiday period.
The letter came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again brought up Pollard in relation to the NSA spying allegations, telling a Likud meeting that he met Monday with the Israeli agent's wife, Esther.
In a letter to the president, Conference of Presidents Chairman, Robert G. Sugarman, and Executive Vice Chairman, Malcolm Hoenlein, say Pollard has served longer than any person convicted of a similar offense and his sentence should be commuted to the 28 years he has already served.
In their letter, they wrote : ‘’We note the public calls and support for Mr. Pollard's release that have come from many of those who were involved in his prosecution or are otherwise in a position to make responsible judgment, including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former CIA Director James Woolsey, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, former National Security Advisor Robert MacFarlane, most recently Governor Bill Richardson, and William Webster, the head of the FBI at the time of Pollard's arrest, who said that he no longer opposes his release.’’
The letter continues, ‘’Some of them have stepped up their advocacy because of the recent revelations regarding US activities vis-a-vis Israel. This is foremost a matter of justice and humanity. He has suffered and paid a heavy price for his crime, for which he has publicly expressed remorse.’’
"We hope that in this holiday season, as we approach the new year with hope and expectation, that this request would be considered favorably and that Mr. and Mrs. Pollard would be allowed to rebuild their lives after his having served more than 10,000 days in prison."
He also said he had asked the US for "clarifications" on the NSA spying matter.
"In the close relationship between Israel and the United States, there are things which are forbidden to do, that are unacceptable to us," he said.
Netanyahu said he met with Esther Pollard and updated her on the nonstop efforts to win Jonathan's release.
‘’He should have been released long ago. I think this is understood by everyone here and I believe it is also understood to an increasingly larger crowd in the United States," Netanyahu said.