Pollard Loses High Court of Justice (sic) Appeal

Israel's High Court of Justice just published its decision on Jonathna Pollard's appeal to gain recognition as a Prisoner of Zion.

For Hebrew readers, you can find the text here.

Here's a news summary:

The Supreme Court rejected this morning Pollard's plea to have the State of Israel recognize him as a Prisoner of Zion. The Court accepted the State's position that Pollard did not meet the required criteria, such as teaching Hebrew or encouraging immigration to Israel.

A former Prisoner of Zion, Prof. Ezriel Kochubievski of Rehovot, ridiculed this approach. Prior to the Court hearing last September, he said, "The government stipulates that Prisoners of Zion must have engaged in Zionism. When I was in the Soviet Union, I did not think of myself as engaging in Zionism; I just wanted to go to Israel. Pollard, however, was sent by Israel to carry out a specific mission. If that's not a Zionist activity that qualifies for Prisoner of Zion status, then I also do not qualify."

Pollard's wife Esther said sadly this morning that granting her husband Prisoner of Zion status would have had two concrete results: "It would have stopped the torturous conditions that he has been undergoing for 20 years, and it would have led to much better chances for his release. The prison authorities in the U.S. would not dare to harass someone who has been recognized in this way by the Israeli government... It also would have helped smooth the way for diplomatic pressures in both Israel and the U.S., which would have helped secure his release."

Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who represented Jonathan Pollard in his Supreme Court petition, told the Court that Pollard's life sentence -- for passing information to Israel, classified by the US as a friendly nation -- is unprecedented in U.S. legal history. Persons convicted of actions similar to this, or even more serious than it, generally serve only 4-7 years in prison, while Pollard is now in his 21st year of a life sentence.

Darshan-Leitner said, "The lawsuit also seeks a judicial review of the Israeli government's calculated mishandling of Pollard's case for the last two decades; and its consistent refusal to mount an effective campaign to secure his freedom, as it has done for agents captured in other countries, including Cyprus, Switzerland, Jordan, and New Zealand."

A quick review of the decision shows that Barak & Co. chose a narrow economic line and ignored the 102 Knesset Mks who recommended the adoption of such a status.

In other words, Pollard's human rights were denied.