January 22, 2014

Unexpected Grief

Leave a Comment / Blogs / Susan Esther Barnes

Late last week my husband’s parents called to let us know that my husband’s cousin had died unexpectedly. I had never met this cousin, so, although I expected to comfort my husband for his loss, I didn’t expect to be doing any mourning myself. I was mistaken.

Perhaps it was the disturbing nature of the cousin’s death. Perhaps it had to do with the time we had spent with the cousin’s parents, my husband’s aunt and uncle, not so long ago. They are such a kind and giving couple. I feel bad for them that they have to face the seemingly unbearable loss of their son.

Perhaps it’s just a human thing. When death hits close to us, we grieve. When others around us are sad, we, too, mourn. It’s part of what it means to be in a family or in a community.

Clearly, my mourning is nothing compared to that of the cousin’s parents. But grief is not a contest. We all must process our own grief in our own way and in our own time, regardless of the similarity or dissimilarity of the grief of those around us.

Also in the past week, I had the honor of performing a taharah (ritually washing and dressing a dead person, and placing the body in the coffin) with a team which included two people who had not done taharah before.

Afterward, one of them said, “I’m surprised; I find myself grieving the loss of this person, even though we never met.” Taharah is a solemn and intimate process. It brings us close to death. Grief and sorrow are natural reactions to death. I assured this person that these feelings are normal.

I find myself reflecting on this capacity we have to care about each other, and to grieve the death of others, even when they are people we never met in life. It highlights the humanity and compassion in all of us. It serves as a reminder to us to treat each other well in life and to take care of each other. Because even if I don’t know you, I recognize that your life has value, and the loss of life is to be mourned.

—————-
“Like” the “>follow me on Twitter.

Unexpected Grief Read More »

Al-Qaeda cell arrested in plot to attack U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv

Leave a Comment / Israel / Jewish Journal

An al-Qaeda cell suspected of planning several terror attacks in Israel, including on the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, was arrested.

A gag order on the three arrests made several weeks ago by Israel’s Shin Bet security service was lifted Wednesday by the Jerusalem Magistrate Court.

Two of the alleged terrorists are from the West Bank; the third is from eastern Jerusalem. They reportedly were planning at least two major attacks, including a suicide bombing and a truck bombing. The other target was the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.

According to reports, the cell also considered bombing a Jerusalem-area bus and kidnapping a soldier in Jerusalem. One of the terrorists reportedly received computer files containing virtual training courses on bomb manufacturing.

The cell’s operator was based in Gaza and reportedly received his orders directly from al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri.

The Shin Bet said that the men were recruited and received their orders on Skype and Facebook. None of the suspects had a previous record of terrorist activities.

Al-Qaeda cell arrested in plot to attack U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv Read More »

New kosher oversight board established

Leave a Comment / California / Jonah Lowenfeld

A group of local Orthodox rabbis has begun regularly inspecting the businesses in Los Angeles certified as kosher by the Rabbinical Council of California (RCC). The new volunteer board, the Kashrut Vaad of LA (KVLA), consists of five local Orthodox rabbis not affiliated with the RCC who have been inspecting since late last year the dozens of restaurants and retailers under the RCC’s supervision.

The existence of KVLA was announced earlier this month in two public letters, one from the RCC and another from Rabbi Yaakov Luban, the executive rabbinic coordinator of the Orthodox Union. They come less than one year after revelations about a breach in the RCC’s supervision of Doheny Kosher Meat Market, then the RCC’s largest distributor of kosher meat, . The revelations of Doheny’s misconduct last March, which forced a sale of the Pico Boulevard shop, led some consumers, one RCC-certified business and even a few local Orthodox rabbis, to express doubt about whether the RCC’s supervision was reliable.

In the wake of the scandal, the RCC created an ad hoc group of local independent rabbis to inspect facilities under its supervision, and it is that group that has now been replaced by the more permanent new oversight board, KVLA. The RCC, a nonprofit association of local Orthodox rabbis, also recruited Luban and other rabbis from the OU’s kashrut division to perform an audit of RCC-certified shops.

In his letter, dated Jan. 2, Luban announced the conclusion of the OU’s audit. Over the preceding eight months, Luban wrote that he had visited Los Angeles on “five separate occasions,” visiting RCC-certified facilities, recommending certain changes to the rabbinic leadership, and making return inspections to ensure that his suggestions had been implemented. The RCC, Luban wrote, has instituted stronger kashrut standards, increased the level of supervision by the overseers placed in its certified businesses, and increased the number of inspections performed by the RCC’s core professional staff. This last recommendation required the RCC to hire additional employees.

The result, Luban wrote, “has greatly enhanced the level of supervision of the RCC.

“I’m happy to embrace as much transparency as possible,” RCC President Rabbi Meyer May said. May said implementing Luban’s suggestions has had a positive effect on the local kosher agency, and described a “healthy partnership” between the RCC and OU. That relationship will continue, since OU employees based in Los Angeles will continue to conduct inspections of RCC establishments and file reports back to the New York offices of the OU.

“They did not ask for remuneration,” May said of the OU, taking pains to emphasize that Luban’s work had been done on a volunteer basis. “All they are concerned about is enhancing kashrus in America. And when they stepped in, they enhanced kashrus in America.”

New kosher oversight board established Read More »

Calendar January 25-31

Leave a Comment / California, Picks and Clicks, What's Happening / Laura Donney

SAT | JAN 25

MUSEUMS FREE-FOR-ALL

Sometimes there is such thing as a free lunch. SoCal Museums is bringing you its ninth annual day of free art and culture, with 20 Southern California museums banding together to get you through their doors. From the Skirball to LACMA, to the Museum of Contemporary Art, to both Gettys, to the Annenberg Space for Photography — you can bring a posse or museum hop solo. No matter what, it will be a price-less day of priceless art, and that’s better than any free lunch. Sat. Various hours. Free. Various locations. SUN | JAN 26

“KABBALAH IN ART AND ARCHITECTURE”

Architect, design critic and author Alexander Gorlin explores the spiritual side of structure. By looking at the kabbalistic relationship with creation, light, space and geometry, Gorlin seamlessly reveals how ancient Jewish mysticism is expressed in contemporary blueprints. A Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, Gorlin brings a worldly understanding to architectural influences. Sun. 2:30 p.m. $10 (general), $7 (seniors and students), free (members). Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 440-4500. ” target=”_blank”>lamoth.org.

LEIGH STEINBERG

He’s the guy who brought you Troy Aikman, Bruce Smith and Ben Roethlisberger. In his new book, “The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game,” Steinberg chronicles his early years at UC Berkeley, his time on top as an industry king and some of the high-profile struggles that eventually led to a high-profile comeback. An inspiration for “Jerry Maguire” and an innovator in sports negotiation, Steinberg’s got a fair share of stories that pack a punch. Sun. 4 p.m. Free. Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 659-3110. TUE | JAN 28

“THE MAGIKER”

Religion was never really a part of psychiatrist Harry Strider’s life. But when a troubled socialite seeks out Harry for counseling, the psychiatrist enters a never-before-explored world of kabbalah. Join Ed Asner, Richard Benjamin and more for a dramatic reading of Charles Dennis’ new novel. Winner of the Samuel Fuller Guerrilla Filmmaker Award, Dennis offers a funny, sharp, enlightened look at a man who is connecting for the first time. Tue. 7 p.m. $25. American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air. (310) 476-9777. ” target=”_blank”>cjs.ucla.edu.

WED | JAN 29

“BUNNY BUNNY”

The Falcon Theatre presents Alan Zweibel’s theatrical love letter to Gilda Radner. Having first met at “Saturday Night Live” behind a potted tree, the writer and comedian struck up a friendship that would last 14 years. Join director Dimitri Toscas as he takes us through the sometimes-heartbreaking memories of a very funny man who misses his very funny friend. Through March 2. Wed. 8 p.m. $27-$57. Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. (818) 955-8101. FRI | JAN 31

MAYER HAWTHORNE

It’s been five years since his musical debut, and Hawthorne has an even more finely tuned sense of instrument, composition and vocal storytelling than ever before. Uniquely blending influences from soul legends Barry White and Curtis Mayfield as well as Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald and the Beastie Boys, it’s unsurprising that Hawthorne has nabbed his first Grammy nomination this year. Maybe you saw him when he toured with Bruno Mars, or Erykah Badu, or Amy Winehouse; now see him for himself. Fri. 8 p.m. $40.50. Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 962-7600. Calendar January 25-31 Read More »

Letters to the editor: UCLA’s agenda, Eshman’s pomegranate tree and the wealthy Americans

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor / Jewish Journal

The Liberal Agenda

Dennis Prager contends that American university curricula promote a liberal agenda (“UCLA’s Further Deterioration,” Jan. 10). In fact, the opposite is true. The traditional university education subtly taught generations of students that the only subjects worthy of academic study were those that focused on Western white societies from the perspective of white Western males. Contemporary university curricula correct for this bias. I agree that a student majoring in English should be exposed to the foundational literature of the language. However, I also firmly believe that including the study of non-white, non-Western and non-male perspectives in literature enhances the students’ education, enabling them to understand their own humanity and that of others through exposure to a wide range of life experiences. I am encouraged that our future leaders are receiving such an education.

Lorie Homer Kraus, Los Angeles

Thanks to Dennis Prager for his fine article on UCLA’s further deterioration. I will definitely not be sending my kids to that institution. Just where, then, is it safe to send kids without them being subject to leftist, America/Israel-hating propaganda in most of today’s academia?

Richard Levine via e-mail

For many years I have ignored Dennis Prager’s stabs at journalism as being useless and lacking in credibility.

His recent attack on the UCLA English department caught my attention. His entire basis of attack was based on a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that he labels “as reported.” Dennis has long since lost the distinction between fact and opinion.

But he did manage to get one thing correct: The University of California has lost more than a billion dollars in state funding. I hope Dennis will join the bipartisan effort to reinvest in higher education in this state.

But I think I’ll ignore his columns for another 20 years.

Howard Welinsky, Toluca Lake

Dennis Prager responds:

Lorie Homer Kraus’ letter verifies the point of my article. Shakespeare is taught, not because the American university believes in literary greatness — for the most part, it doesn’t — but because he is a “white Western male.” That is what Ms. Kraus was taught in college. Reread her letter and weep for what the left has done to the arts and to students’ minds.

To Richard Levine: As our universities have substituted indoctrination for education, students at most universities will be, as you write, “subject to leftist, America/Israel-hating propaganda.” What I suggest to parents who recognize this is to have their son or daughter take a year off prior to entering college — to work, to study their religion and to become intellectually prepared for the ideological immersion that awaits them at college. Kids right out of high school are the easiest people to influence.

Mr. Welinsky writes that he will ignore my columns for another 20 years. Apparently he has ignored them for the past 20. In my more than 100 columns for the Jewish Journal, I couldn’t find one about journalism. And as regards losing the distinction between fact and opinion, allow me to help Mr. Welinsky understand it: That the English department — and virtually every other department in the liberal arts — at UCLA and other UC campuses — has been politicized is a fact. Whether that is a good or bad development is opinion.

Protect the Pomegranate

I’m a fan, and I just now read your Jan. 10 “Pom Wonderful” column.

I’ve had issues with mold, as well. Before you do anything, get a second opinion.

I’ve heard horror stories regarding “mold experts,” and not to say that your abatement specialist isn’t wonderful, but if the pomegranate means that much to you, and I can see that it does, better to get a second pair of expert eyes to review it.

Julie Goldberg via e-mail

Keep the Rich From Getting Richer

Mark Mellman’s essay (“Rich Still Getting Richer,” Jan. 17) about economic inequality does a good job of using facts and figures to challenge the Republican economic theory of “trickle-down,” but I believe one set of figures tells the whole story: In the eight years Bill Clinton was president, taxes were raised on the rich, and 23 million jobs were created, while in the eight years George W. Bush was president, taxes were cut on the rich (not once, but twice!) and only 3 million jobs were created. These figures disprove the theory of trickle-down both ways: Raising taxes on the rich does not hurt job growth, and cutting taxes on the rich does not create job growth. And these figures do not come from a Democratic pollster, they come from the Wall Street Journal (“Bush on Jobs: The Worst Track Record on Record,” Jan. 9, 2009,).

Reality has disproven trickle-down. If Republicans truly care about fixing the problem of economic inequality, they should advocate for policies that work toward that goal, rather than advocating for bogus policies that only line the pockets of the rich.

Michael Asher, Valley Village

correction

The correct contact information for Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills’ Jan. 10 Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of Song event (Calendar, Jan. 3), is (310) 409-4634, tebh.org.

Letters to the editor: UCLA’s agenda, Eshman’s pomegranate tree and the wealthy Americans Read More »

Obituaries

Leave a Comment / Obituaries / Jewish Journal

Leonard Baum died Dec. 31 at 85. Survived by wife Marilyn; daughter Marla (Mark) Saltzman; sons Bruce (Lynn), Stuart; 4 grandchildren; sister Betty Novicoff. Mount Sinai

Frances Becker died Dec. 28 at 77. Survived by husband Tully; daughter Hanna (Brent Bremer); sons George, John; 3 grandchildren. Hillside

Gertrude Becker died Dec. 30 at 91. Survived by daughters Jolise (Alan) Shiner, Felicia; 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Herman Blumenfeld died Dec. 30 at 105. Survived by daughters Sarah (Ira) Kleinrock, Miriam (Jack) Pitson; sons Bernard (Elizabeth Bronstein), Joseph (Ellen), Michael (Shelley); 12 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Sherman Broidy died Jan. 3 at 89. Survived by wife Dorothy; daughters Michelle Nastarin, Claudia (Mike) Sterling; son Elliott; 7 grandchildren. Hillside

Ghislaine Dana died Dec. 31 at 82. Survived by daughter Lina (Andre); sons Serge (Charlotte), Paul (Avelino); 4 grandchildren; brother Gerard Dokhan. Mount Sinai

Abraham Daniels died Dec. 17 at 96. Survived by daughters Betty (Charles) Carmona, Debrah Kitchings, Diana Thompson, Ethel; 5 grandchildren ; 1 great-grandchild; sister Edythe (Gordy) Shore. Chevra Kadisha

Robert Ehrlich died Dec. 31 at 67. Survived by daughter Amanda; sister Hope Eastman; 2 nephews. Hillside

Bernice Fisher died Dec. 25 at 83. Survived by sons Daniel (Gudy) Brock, Jim (Elizabeth Watson), John (Sabina); 4 grandchildren; sister Anette Ades. Hillside

William Friedland died Dec. 31 at 90. Survived by wife Violet; daughters Sheree (Preston) Gould, Alisa (Robert) London, Beth; 3 grandchildren; sister Phyllis Kossoff. Mount Sinai

Joseph Frolove died Dec. 29 at 86. Survived by daughters Debra (Todd) Stoddard, Cindi; sister Marcy (Ruben) Green; 1 niece. Mount Sinai

Betty German died Jan. 3 at 109. Survived by daughter Francine; 2 grandchildren. Hillside

Judith Ghesser died Jan. 3 at 84. Survived by daughter Hana (Russell) Ghesser Brown; sons Daniel (Shirin), Harvey; 6 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Bernard Glasser died Jan. 2 at 89. Survived by wife Joan; daughter Deborah; sons Bill, John, Robert. Mount Sinai

Cynthia Godofsky died Dec. 28 at 67. Survived by husband Irvin; daughters Johanna (Aaron) Katz, Maya (David Parver); 4 grandchildren. Hillside

Helen Golbin died Jan. 5 at 89. Survived by daughter Lynn (Philip) Shipper; son Joel (Susan); 2 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Helen Grabow died Dec. 29 at 91. Survived by daughter Sheryl (Michael) Grabow-Weiss, Aleen; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai

E.B. Shaya Grendel died Jan. 4 at 65. Survived by daughters Mara, Miriam; son D. Jacob; mother Esther; brothers Morgan, Steve; ex-wife Sande. Hillside

Janet Harrison died Jan. 3 at 89. Survived by daughter Ricka White; sons Daniel (Donna), Steven (Sylvia); 4 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Otto Herskovic died Jan. 5 at 83. Survived by wife Atiy Nafari-Herskovic; stepdaughter Nazanin; stepson Ardeshir; 4 stepgrandchildren; sister-in-law Maria; 8 nieces and nephews; 14 great-nieces and -nephews; 7 great-great-nieces and -nephews. Groman Eden

Mildred Kohn died Dec. 29 at 105. Survived by sons Robert (Judith Ashmann Gerst), Ronald (Sylvia); 6 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Stewart Krask died Jan. 1 at 83. Survived by wife Jane; sons Daren, Jeff (Sylvia); 2 grandchildren. Hillside

Paul Landau died Jan. 1 at 92. Survived by wife Trudy; sons Daniel, Frank. Hillside

Henri Lazarof died Dec. 29 at 81. Survived by wife Janice; daughters

Amy Bolker, Cynthia (Greg) Bolker, Wendy Bolker, Jilliene (Evan) Schenkel; 9 grandchildren. Hillside

Florence Levine died Dec. 26 at 86. Survived by sons Marc (Carolina Subia), Neil (Jackie Siegel), Ross (Roberto Fradera); 2 grandchildren; brother Irwin David. Hillside

Edith Mascola died Dec. 29 at 91. Survived by daughter Lisa (Ron) Farmer, Laurene; 2 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild; sister Marilyn Kamholtz. Hillside

Betty Matier died Dec. 26 at 82. Survived by husband Bernard; daughter Deborah (Craig) Eden; son Michael; 3 grandchildren. Hillside

Jack Miller died Jan. 2 at 85. Survived by wife B.J. Freeman; daughter Roxanne (Tom) Miller-Freutel; son Keith; 1 grandchild. Hillside

Barbara Nadlman died Dec. 27 at 79. Survived by husband Sanford; daughter Michelle (David) Heffron; son Jay (Kathy); 5 grandchildren. Hillside

Gerald Ora died Dec. 27 at 83. Survived by wife Betty; sons Randall (Doreen), Scott. Hillside

Leonard Peller died Jan. 3 at 94. Survived by son Andrew; niece Judith (Rusty) Schlegel. Mount Sinai

Janice Pivo died Jan. 2 at 67. Survived by husband Steven; sons Rabbi Jeff (Lisa), Richard (Chandra); 4 grandchildren; sister Gloria Sophor. Mount Sinai

Betty Rifkin died Dec. 31 at 95. Survived by husband Sam; son Edward; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai

Richard Samuels died Dec. 31 at 56. Survived by wife Marcy; daughter Patricia; son Daniel; mother Helen; sister Laura (Barry) Axelrod; brother Robert (Mary); nieces and nephews. Eternal Light Memorial Gardens

Stuart Schweit died Dec. 27 at 69. Survived by daughter Julie; son Jack (Jessie); mother Rose Blumenau; brother Jon (Shari). Mount Sinai

Mildred Segal died Dec. 30 at 91. Survived by sons Jeff, Marty (Elizabeth); 1 grandchild. Hillside

Albert Socol died Jan. 4 at 104. Survived by sons Harvey, Lionel (Carol); 4 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren. Hillside

Michael Solomon died Dec. 30 at 61. Survived by mother Myna; aunt Maureen Temkin; uncle Harvey Temkin; cousin Sheri Kane. Mount Sinai

Lorraine Sunshine died Dec. 30 at 90. Survived by sons Kenneth, Randall, Robert. Hillside

Jean Kaplan-Nathan Weiner died Jan. 3 at 99. Survived by daughter Susan (Phil Merlin) Pressman; stepdaughters Geraldine Gregory, Miriam (Peter) Nathan-Robertson; 2 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; sister Tobie Heller. Groman Eden

Bernard Wizig died Dec. 27 at 95. Survived by wife Enid; daughter Lynn Kilroy; son Jeffy (Debra); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Edward Woods died Jan. 1 at 80. Survived by wife Marilyn; daughter Elissa; sons David Vandervelde, Craig. Mount Sinai

Obituaries Read More »

Snowden denies he got help from Russia in leaking U.S. secrets

Leave a Comment / Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News, United States / Jewish Journal

Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden said he acted alone in leaking U.S. government secrets and that suggestions by some U.S. lawmakers he might have had help from Russia were “absurd,” the New Yorker magazine reported on Tuesday.

In an interview the magazine said was conducted by encrypted means from Moscow, Snowden was quoted as saying, “This 'Russian spy' push is absurd.”

Snowden said he “clearly and unambiguously acted alone, with no help from anyone, much less a government,” the New Yorker said.

“It won't stick. … Because it's clearly false, and the American people are smarter than politicians think they are,” the publication quoted Snowden as saying.

The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Sunday he was investigating whether Snowden had help from Russia in stealing and revealing U.S. government secrets.

“I believe there's a reason he ended up in the hands – the loving arms – of an FSB agent in Moscow. I don't think that's a coincidence,” Representative Mike Rogers told NBC's “Meet the Press,” referring to the Russian intelligence agency that is a successor of the Soviet-era KGB.

Rogers did not provide specific evidence to back his suggestions of Russian involvement in Snowden's activities, but said, “Some of the things we're finding we would call clues that certainly would indicate to me that he had some help.”

Snowden fled the United States last year to Hong Kong and then to Russia, where he was granted at least a year of asylum. U.S. officials want him returned to the United States for prosecution. His disclosures of large numbers of stolen U.S. secret documents sparked a debate around the world about the reach of U.S. electronic surveillance.

Other U.S. security officials told Reuters as recently as last week that the United States had no evidence that Snowden had any confederates who assisted him or guided him about what National Security Agency materials to hack or how to do so.

Snowden told the New York Times in October he did not take any secret NSA documents with him to Russia when he fled there in June 2013. “There's a zero percent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents,” Snowden told the Times.

Snowden said in the New Yorker interview that if he were a Russian spy, “Why Hong Kong?” and why was he stuck for a lengthy period in Moscow's airport before being allowed to stay in the country.

“Spies get treated better than that,” he said.

Reporting by Peter Cooney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

Snowden denies he got help from Russia in leaking U.S. secrets Read More »

Jonathan Pollard case is about America

Leave a Comment / David Suissa, Is Featured?, Lead Story, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News / David Suissa

America is far from being an anti-Semitic country. In fact, it might be the first country in Jewish history where it’s actually “cool” to be Jewish. That’s one reason I’ve been so reluctant over the years to weigh in on the Jonathan Pollard affair — I’m so in love with this country and all it’s done for the Jews that the last thing I want is to appear ungrateful or, worse, disloyal.

Having said that, however, after a while it gets harder and harder to ignore what looks like blatant discrimination against a Jewish man who in 1987 pleaded guilty to spying for Israel. How else to explain the U.S. government’s harsh treatment of Pollard?

Of the millions of things that have been said about this case, one fact, for me, stands out the most: The government reneged on the deal it made with Pollard.

This point was flagrantly absent in a recent New York Times op-ed written by M.E. Bowman, a U.S. official directly involved in the Pollard case who continues to defend Pollard’s life sentence.

As Alan Dershowitz responded on the Times’ Web site, “M.E. Bowman fails to tell his readers that when Mr. Pollard entered into his plea bargain, the United States government solemnly represented to the court that a sentence of less than life imprisonment would satisfy the needs of justice.”

Nothing Bowman writes in his editorial explains or even refers to this injustice.

“That solemn representation,” Dershowitz writes, “was the quid pro quo for Pollard’s plea of guilty. It violates both the letter and the spirit of that plea bargain for Mr. Bowman, who was a justice department official at the time, now to urge that Pollard must serve the life sentence imposed on him by the court despite the government having sought a sentence that Pollard has already completed.”

Of course, based on historical and legal precedent, it made plenty of sense for prosecutors not to seek a life sentence for Pollard.

As historian Gil Troy documented a few years ago, “Spies for other allies, like Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt and the Philippines, served anywhere from two to four years, with maximum sentences of 10 years.”

Even two American traitors who spied for the Soviet enemy during the Cold War, Sgt. Clayton Lonetree and FBI agent Richard Miller, served sentences of nine years and 13 years, respectively.

The well-known story that former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger had it in for Pollard and pushed for a life sentence with the sentencing judge may explain the government’s betrayal, but it hardly justifies it.

So, given that Pollard is now serving his 29th year behind bars, it’s not paranoid for Troy to wonder: “Pollard’s extreme sentence — along with the continuing refusal to free him — has raised questions about official American anti-Semitism and whether Pollard is enduring harsher punishment for the crime of being an American Jew spying for Israel.”

Despite all this evidence of discrimination and unfairness, the mainstream Jewish community has generally been reluctant to dirty its hands with this case. If anything, it has gone out of its way not to defend Pollard, lest it be accused of dual loyalty.

But what so many in our community have missed is that even more than anti-Semitism, the Pollard case is one of anti-Americanism.

Pollard should have been released years ago because discrimination and unfairness are anti-American ideas.

As Judge Stephen Williams wrote in one of Pollard’s failed appeals, the government’s treatment of Pollard is “a fundamental miscarriage of justice.”

It’s no coincidence that prominent non-Jews, including former Secretary of State George Shulz and former CIA Director James Woolsey, as well as political leaders from both parties, have been lobbying for his release.

They’re not lobbying because Pollard is a hero. He’s not. He’s a criminal. But in America, even criminals have rights, and those rights can get violated.

The Pollard affair is no longer about the darkness of his crime — it’s about the violation of his rights.

Jews must have enough faith in the American system to advocate for Pollard’s rights without feeling the paranoia of dual loyalty.

Those who are finally lobbying for his release on the basis of compassion — focusing on his worsening health — are not doing him any favors. This case doesn’t revolve around compassion; it revolves around justice run amok. As Troy writes, “Justice when applied too zealously becomes unjust.”

You can hate Pollard because of what he did. You can hate him for making you cringe in embarrassment. You can hate him for making American Jews look disloyal to this amazing country.

But if you really want to show your loyalty to America, in my book there’s no better way than to show loyalty to America’s values. And what American value is greater and more honorable than “justice for all”?

The very greatness of this country is that it puts values ahead of men. The values of fairness and justice for Jonathan Pollard are a lot more important than who he is — even if you think he’s a shameful Jew.

David Suissa is president of TRIBE Media Corp./Jewish Journal and can be reached at davids@jewishjournal.com.

Jonathan Pollard case is about America Read More »

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

Jewish Journal

Unexpected Grief

Al-Qaeda cell arrested in plot to attack U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv

New kosher oversight board established

Calendar January 25-31

Letters to the editor: UCLA’s agenda, Eshman’s pomegranate tree and the wealthy Americans

Obituaries

Snowden denies he got help from Russia in leaking U.S. secrets

Jonathan Pollard case is about America

Los Angeles! Go join the protest for African refugee rights outside your Israeli consulate right now

The Sholem Aleichem Exchange, Part 1: What the Great Yiddish Author Meant to the Lower East Side

Jewish Journal