Meeting Jonathan Pollard

This article was sent to Heritage right before Passover but was too late to make it in one of the two papers that come out during Passover. Still, we felt it should be shared because it is so timely.

There are many things that are charming about Jerusalem. Once, I read a book titled "Letters From Jerusalem 1947-1948" by a woman who lived here in the 1940s, fought during the War of Independence, and spoke about many of the challenges of living in Jerusalem at that time. One thing that struck me was that back then Jerusalem was more of a small town, only about 100,000 Jews. The impression was that everyone knew one another and, if not literally, everyone was bound together as one.

Jerusalem has grown considerably, nearly one million people now. Like any small to mid-sized city, it has its challenges. Surely not everyone knows one another. But there's still a charm in that you can be walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant and bump into someone you know or know of.

Last month, I hosted a dinner as part of my Run for Zion program at Piccolino, a delightful central Jerusalem restaurant with great charm, amazing food, and an incredible story. All of a sudden, as one of my guests was speaking, I spotted someone I had known about and was connected to since my 20s.

As my guest was wrapping up his comments, I bolted toward the door to meet Jonathan Pollard. I had never met him before, but we had been connected long ago. Indirectly at least.

Jonathan Pollard is a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst and Israeli spy. In 1984, Pollard provided Israel numerous closely guarded secrets, information he believed vital to Israel's survival and was being withheld. He was arrested in 1985, and agreed to a plea bargain, but was sentenced to life in prison despite the arrangement with the government.

Through a friend who was very close to his case, I knew things that were more private than most others. I prayed and advocated for him but always felt I never had done enough.

Pollard's case hit close to home. In my advocacy, I always said that what happened to him was an injustice. He was arrested as a spy, but he was tried and sentenced as a Jew. Nobody ever was arrested as a spy in the U.S. as an agent of a U.S. ally and received a sentence like that. Spies for enemy countries or adversaries who did more harm to the U.S. have received lighter sentences and were released earlier. Pollard's case screamed injustice.

As much as that is the fact, he made many American Jews uncomfortable. Not that anyone needs an excuse to accuse Jews of dual loyalty. That's an age-old pillar of antisemitism. But Pollard made many Jews uncomfortable, particularly those working in government or security-related capacities.

Other than our names being the same, there was an interesting connection that I shared with him. In 1987 after he was sentenced, I began working at the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta. It didn't help that in the midst of my security clearance I went to the Soviet Union, then very much not an ally of the U.S. or Israel, to put it mildly.

Immediately after I began work, I had a conversation with a senior Israeli diplomat. The topic was simple, and the message was clear. I was told almost word for word that my name was Jonathan, and his name was Jonathan, and if anyone ever approached me to do anything that was not completely legitimate, much less espionage, to report it to that person immediately. Israel didn't want another big spy mess, or even the appearances of that.

I related this story to Jonathan Pollard. He'd never heard anything like it, but he wasn't surprised.

I also told Jonathan that I needed to apologize. "Why," he asked. I told him that I didn't do enough when he was in prison to get him out. Then he interrupted me. "Did you daven (pray) for me," he asked? "Yes. But..."

Jonathan cut me off again. His recently deceased and incredibly righteous wife, Esther, would tell people that anyone who prayed did all they could, and needed to. She envisioned that there was a cup that filled up, with each prayer figuratively being another drop. Each drop was needed and made a difference.

Jonathan's graciousness and Esther's wisdom comforted me. But I still feel I didn't do enough. I thanked him for his commitment and told him that I was sorry he had to endure all he did. How a man who suffered the way he did could be so kind and humble blew me away, but then he blew me away even more, "It was my privilege," he said. I'm not sure I'll ever understand how a man being in prison, much of it in solitary, for three decades, could ever be a privilege.

It's timely at Passover to think about the many ways in our lifetime in which Jews have been imprisoned, physically like Pollard, or spiritually and culturally like in the Soviet Union.

I had always wanted to meet Jonathan Pollard and could have done so before if I had pushed. But I didn't want to invade his privacy. He deserves not to be bothered by others, and to live and enjoy his life in freedom among his people.

However, Israel also failed him. As much as I can't imagine being in prison under conditions that he suffered for so long, I also can't imagine the feeling of abandonment and maybe fear as he was barred from entering the Israeli embassy when his arrest was imminent. He knew he had broken the law. Even if he was willing, Israel abandoned him. I always felt, and still do, that Israel handled that poorly.

He seems to have left the past in the past.

I asked if I could introduce him to my group and he agreed. Most had never heard of the hero I introduced. He spoke for just a moment but was charming, saying that Israel is the closest to heaven that they would be on this side of heaven.

I have always wondered if I would do the same as Pollard did. If I had access to information to help my country and people, that was being withheld and by doing so posed an existential threat, would I break the law to save Israel? It's hard to say no, but I just don't know.

Jonathan Pollard is a Jewish hero and should always be celebrated as such. I understand why many American Jews are uncomfortable with him, because his case allowed people to charge Jews with dual loyalty. However, antisemites don't need a Jonathan Pollard or any other excuse to come up with a libel against Israel. At the Passover Seder we recount that in every generation an enemy arises to harm us, something Israel and Jews around the world feel palpably. Should we placate those who threaten us, or bar no holds on protecting ourselves?

A hero is someone who does things that are above and beyond, in spite of consequences, or overcoming challenges even superhumanly. Jonathan Pollard broke the law, but he is a hero. May he have the privilege to spend many more decades living and enjoying this side of heaven.

Jonathan Feldstein is a former Soviet Jewry activist, born and educated in the United States, who immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is president of the Genesis 123 Foundation, building bridges between Jews and Christians and Christians and Israel, and writes and broadcasts regularly in a variety of Christian media, sharing the experience of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.