Jonathan Pollard, the ex-US Navy analyst, who received a life sentence for passing secrets on to Israel, arrived in Israel early this morning.
Without getting in to all the politics around his crime and release, Pollard by far received the longest sentence in U.S. history for spying for a friendly government (and even longer than received by some who spied for enemy governments). He paid the price, and then some.
I was not even going to write anything about his arrival in Israel; that is, until I saw this AP report on it.
Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in U.S. prison for spying for Israel, arrived in Israel early Wednesday with his wife, triumphantly kissing the ground as he disembarked from the aircraft in the culmination of a decades-long affair that had long strained relations between the two close allies."Triumphantly" implies he sees himself as some kind of victor. But he was clearly just overjoyed that he finally reached Israel, the place he wants to live after spending so many decades in prison. Most Jews who arrive in Israel for the first time, in fact, kiss the ground. I would have thought a word like "emotionally" or even "jubilantly" - which expresses great happiness - would have been more appropriate.“We are ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years,” Pollard said as he was greeted at Israel’s international airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking of the "j" word, reporter Josef Federman actually then uses it the very next paragraph
The Israeli leader jubilantly presented Pollard and his wife Esther with Israeli ID cards, granting them citizenship.I think here, the word is an overstatement“You’re home,” Netanyahu said, reciting a Hebrew blessing of thanks. “What a moment. What a moment.”
https://twitter.com/kann_news/status/1344157531728297985
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The entire event - for want of a better word - was early in the morning (when it was still dark out), with very little fanfare. This was not exactly a full-scale heroes welcome, and PM Netanyahu, although visibly pleased, was not exactly "jubilant."
I'd argue if you were envisioning what occurred just based on this report, it would look a lot different to this footage.
Federman then writes about Pollard's crime
Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon in the 1980s. He was arrested in 1985 after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and pleaded guilty. The espionage affair embarrassed Israel and tarnished its relations with the United States for years.This is also misleading and seems meant to paint Pollard's release as unconscionable.Pollard was given a life sentence and U.S. defense and intelligence officials consistently argued against his release. But after serving 30 years in federal prison, he was released on Nov. 20, 2015, and placed on a five-year parole period that ended in November. That cleared the way for him to leave the U.S.
Yet what Federman doesn't mention is the nature of the military secrets Pollard passed on to Israel. This was not information acquired to somehow damage our ally, but rather satellite photos and data on Soviet weapons, which were in the hands of our enemies - the kind of information Israel believed should have been passed along anyway (to be clear, I am not justifying what Pollard did, just that the punishment did not fit the crime).
Also, by mentioning that "U.S. defense and intelligence officials consistently argued against his release," Federman makes a one-sided case for Pollard's continued imprisonment. No mention of what I mentioned earlier, namely that Pollard by far received the longest sentence in U.S. history for spying for a friendly government, and even longer than received by some who spied for enemy governments.
Then Federman cannot resist this dig at both Trump and Netanyahu.
Pollard’s release was the latest in a long line of diplomatic gifts given to Netanyahu by President Donald Trump. His arrival in Israel gives the embattled Netanyahu a welcome boost as he fights for reelection in March 23 parliamentary elections.Whatever you feel about both leaders, this was completely unnecessary. Many Jewish organizations have been campaigning for decades for Pollard's release. And to paint this, as well as other moves by the Trump administration, as mere "gifts" - connoting they have no merit in themselves and were solely done to prop up PM Netanyahu - is simply offensive.
Posted from Israellycool with SteemPress : https://www.israellycool.com/2020/12/30/jonathan-pollards-arrival-in-israel-gets-the-ap-treatment/