TWO BURNING ISSUES: HILLARY CLINTON & HADASSAH
by
Helen Freedman
NEW YORK, Yom Shlishi (Third Day -- "Tuesday"), 21 Av, 5759, (August
3, 1999): Hadassah's outrageous decision to honor
anti-Zionist Hillary Clinton with the 1999 Women's ZIONIST award,
provoked a card burning demonstration on Wednesday, July 14 in front
of Hadassah headquarters in New York City. The demonstration was
sponsored by Americans For a Safe Israel/A.F.S.I., an organization
dedicated to outspoken advocacy for Israel, including Judea, Samaria,
Gaza, the Golan, Hebron and the indivisible capital, Jerusalem.
Joined by scores of disillusioned Hadassah women; Herbert Zweibon,
AFSI chairman and Charlie Bernhaut, AFSI Executive Committee member,
assisted Helen Freedman, AFSI Executive Director, in the card burning
ceremony. By burning the enlarged replica of a life member card, AFSI
was symbolizing the loss of Hadassah's Zionist ideals, exemplified by
its silence on the issue of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to
Jerusalem.
Hillary has pandered to the Jewish community with a Clinton-speak,
double-talk endorsement of the eternal, indivisible Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel, just as her husband did during his 1992 campaign.
Since then, he has broken the law of the land by refusing to move the
U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Hadassah has not seen fit to
challenge him on this. Will they do so now that they have Hillary's
meaningless "personal" commitment?
So many other issues vital to Israel's very existence are ignored by
Hadassah as it strives to be a politically correct, liberal
organization. In doing so, Hadassah has joined with other Jewish
organizations, such as U.J.A., in forgetting its identity and purpose.
Americans For a Safe Israel documented the burning issues which must
be considered when questioning whether Hillary is a friend or enemy of
Israel. After listing these, it would take a remarkable stretch of
credibility to believe Hillary's statement that she will "be an
active, committed advocate for a strong and secure Israel."
We believe talk is cheap. Now that Hillary is running to run for the
Senate in New York, examing her past record tells the real story.
AFSI cites the following:
1. During the 1980's Hillary served on the board of the New World
Foundation, funneling money to the P.L.O., which at the time was
indisputably a terrorist organization, dedicated to Israel's
destruction. Despite the Clintons' determination to sanitize Abdul
Rauf el-Codbi el-Husseini ("Yassser Arafat") and the P.L.O., we have
hard evidence confirming that Israel's enemies are still hoping to
push it into the sea.
2. In February, 1996, Hillary hosted a reception at the White House
for leaders of groups such as the American Muslim Council (A.M.C.),
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R.), and other
apologists for Hamas terrorists. Mrs. Clinton has been joined by her
husband in embracing the A.M.C.'s executive director Abdulrahman
Alamoudi, who, as documented by Steven Emerson, champions Abu Marzook,
the person responsible for creating Hamas' death squads.
3. March 13, 1996 -- President and Mrs. Clinton welcomed the A.M.C.
to the White House, prompting Steven Emerson's now famous article,
"Friends of Hamas in the White House", printed in the Wall Street
Journal.
4. January 29, 1998 -- Hillary hosted a reception at the White House
to mark the end of Ramadan. Organizers were Salam-al-Marayati,
director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (M.P.A.C.), and the
Muslim Women's League, headed by Laila al-Marayati, wife of
al-Marayati. They and their sister organization, the Islamic Center
of Southern California (I.C.S.C.) have defended militant Islamic
fundamentalism, supported radical Islamic groups, rationalized
terrorism, and issued anti-American, anti-Israel, and even anti-Jewish
statements.
It is this very Salam-al-Marayati who was nominated by House Minority
Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) to the newly formed National Commission on
Terrorism, whose specific purpose is to investigate terrorism. Naming
an apologist for terrorism to such a committee is clearly absurd. It
appears to us that the endorsement of the Clintons was instrumental in
this appointment. Fortunately, enough of an outcry arose from the
Jewish community to cause Gephardt to withdraw the nomination. But
Laila's presidential appointment to the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom still stands.
5. May, 1998 -- Hillary declared support for an unrestricted
Palestinian state that "would be on the same footing as other states."
She was "standing by what she said" as recently as February 21, 1999,
even though such a state, in A.F.S.I.'s opinion, carved out of
Israel's guts, would pose a mortal threat to Israel.
6. July 1, 1999 -- Bill Clinton rocked and shocked even Prime
Minister Barak with his announcement regarding the law of return for
"Palestinians." His statement that they should "live wherever they
like, wherever they want to live," had some people wondering whether
Arkansas, U.S.A. might be one of those places. A.F.S.I. believes
that Bill and Hill share the same views on this subject.
We believe that the points listed above are well known to the Hadassah
planners, but they have chosen to ignore them. It is for these
reasons that A.F.S.I. was inundated with phone calls from anxious
Hadassah members, troubled about Hadassah's decision to honor Hillary.
It was their loud cry that caused A.F.S.I. to begin the campaign to
collect Hadassah cards and letters.
As the cards, buttons, telephone calls, emails, and letters poured in
from around the country, it became clear that A.F.S.I. had the sad,
but necessary mission of awakening the leadership of Hadassah. The
foot soldiers had spoken, some of them having served for 40-60 years,
and we had to be their mouthpiece.
One of the Hadassah members at the rally, Ferne Hassan, spoke about
feeling "violated" when she learned of Hadassah's decision. She
described a video called Jihad for Kids, which dramatically shows the
blatant inculcation of hatred currently taking place in Arab
classrooms. The video has been seen by President and Mrs. Clinton,
along with members of the State Department. Hassan maintains that,
"If it 'takes a village,' where is Mrs. Clinton's outrage at the 'Arab
village' who are raising their children to model themselves after
suicide bombers such as Yehiye Ayash - the Engineer?"
The demonstration continued with a message from Terry Duffy, A.F.S.I.
and Hadassah member, speaking for her mother and herself. Quoting
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, she read, "He whose wisdom exceeds his deeds
is like a tree whose branches are many but whose roots are few... but
he whose deeds exceed his wisdom is like a tree whose branches are few
but whose roots are many. Even if all the winds of the world come and
blow upon it, they cannot move it from its place." She continued,
"Hadassah, honor those whose commitment to Israel has deep roots, and
who does not bend with the winds of political advantage. Honor
someone who unites us. A united Israel is rooted deep in the hearts of
the Jewish people."
Following these beautiful words, A.F.S.I. once again expressed its
sadness at having the unhappy, but necessary task of condemning
Hadassah for its unacceptable action in choosing Hillary Clinton as
its 1999 Henrietta Szold award recipient. The demonstration concluded
with the singing of Israeli songs of Jerusalem, and peace, and the
hope expressed in Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem. Once again we
sang of being a free nation in our land, the land of Zion/Israel, and
in Jerusalem.
Shalom,
Helen Freedman
ABOUT HELEN FREEDMAN:
Helen Freedman is Executive Director of Americans for A Safe Israel.
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From: JUSTICE FOR
JONATHAN POLLARD <pollard@better.net>
To : heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Bar Illan Confirms Clinton Betrayal
Bar Illan Confirms Clinton Betrayal
As Barak Fails to Act on Behalf of Pollard
Excerpt JTA Report, July 21, 1999
...Barak had a few gestures for the president. In addition to praising
his leadership on the Kosovo crisis, he intercepted a question for
Clinton on JonathanPollard at ajoint news conference Monday. Taking the
pressure off of Clinton to respond, Barak said, "I clearly want to see
Jonathan Pollard released, but I am of the position that any public
discussion of this issue doesn't push forward the purpose of having
him released. For many reasons,this is a subiect that should be dealt
with not in public but at most between the leaders of the two two
nations," Barak said. During his meeting with Clinton, according to
national security adviser, Sandy Berger, Barak has raised the Pollard
issue and suggested separating the fate of Pollard from the peace
process. [*N.B. See Larry Dub letter to Barak on the matter
07/22/99http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1999/072299.htm]
Netanyahu advisor David Bar Illan stated in a recent interview, that at
the time of the Wye accord, Netanyau secured Clinton's agreement to free
the former U.S. naval intelligence analyst who is serving a life
sentence for spying for Israel. Israel said at the time that in exchange
it had dropped its demand for the arrest of Ghazi Jabali, the Gaza Strip
police chief, and had agreed to release additional Palestinian
prisoners. Netanyahu nearly walked cut on the Wye agreement over the
issue, and Clinton agreed to review the case. "The president has not
received the report" from White House counsel Charles Ruff and "made
no commitments with regard to it," said Clinton's national security
adviser, Sandy Berger.
_____________________________________________________________________________
See also:
The Washington Shuk
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1999/051299.htm
Netanyahu Reveals Clinton Double-Cross On Pollard Release
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1999/061899.htm
Persian Carpet* For Sale...Again by Steve Rodan
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1999/051399.htm
Peace Process or Spin Politics? by Kenneth Timmerman
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1998/102798a.htm
Washington Sets New Price for Pollard
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1999/072099.htm
Larry Dub Letters Page
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/dub.htm
******************************************************************
From: Pollard <pollard@better.net>
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Media Release August 5, 1999- Pollard Guide
for The
Perplexed
Media Release August 5, 1999
Is Jonathan Pollard Linked to the Middle East peace process?
See the answer in the Pollard Guide for the Perplexed:
The Newly Revised Facts of the Pollard Case - Copy follows
______________________________________________________________________
Newly Revised!
Pollard Guide for The Perplexed
The Facts of the Pollard Case:
[New revision posted August 5, 1999]
This information page has been revised in order to help clarify some
of the more complex issues of the Pollard case.
1. Jonathan Pollard was a civilian American Naval intelligence
analyst. In the mid 1980's (circa 1983- 1984) Pollard discovered that
information vital to Israel's security was being deliberately withheld
by certain elements within the U.S. national security establishment.
2. Israel was legally entitled to this vital security information
according to a 1983 Memorandum of Understanding between the two
countries.
3. The information being withheld from Israel included Syrian, Iraqi,
Libyan and Iranian nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare
capabilities - being developed for use against Israel. It also
included information on ballistic missile development by these
countries and information on planned terrorist attacks against Israeli
civilian targets.
4. When Pollard discovered this suppression of information and asked
his superiors about it, he was told to "mind his own business", and
that "Jews get nervous talking about poison gas; they don't need to
know."
He also learned that the objective of cutting off the flow of
information to Israel was to severely curtail Israel's ability to act
independently in defense of her own interests.
5. Pollard was painfully aware that Israeli lives were being put in
jeopardy as a result of this undeclared intelligence embargo. He did
everything he possibly could to stop this covert policy and to have
the legal flow of information to Israel restored. When his efforts met
no success, he began to give the information to Israel directly.
6. Jonathan Pollard was an ideologue, not a mercenary. The FBI
concluded after nine months of polygraphing that Pollard acted for
ideological reasons only, not for profit. This fact was recognized by
the sentencing judge who declined to fine Pollard. (See the addendum
for further details.)
Furthermore, on May 12, 1998, Israel formally acknowledged Jonathan
Pollard had been a bona fide Israeli agent. This fact wiped out any
remaining doubt about Jonathan Pollard's motives. Being an official
agent is, by definition, the polar opposite of being a mercenary.
7. In 1985, his actions were discovered by the U.S. government. His
instructions from Israel were to seek refuge in the Israeli embassy in
Washington. When Pollard and his former wife sought refuge there,
they were at first received and then summarily thrown out into the
waiting arms of the FBI.
8. Jonathan Pollard never had a trial. At the request of both the
U.S. and Israeli Governments, he entered into a plea agreement, which
spared both governments a long, difficult, expensive and potentially
embarrassing trial.
9. Jonathan Pollard fulfilled his end of the plea agreement,
cooperating fully with the prosecution.
10. Nevertheless, Pollard received a life sentence and a
recommendation that he never be paroled- in complete violation of
the plea agreement he had reached with the government.
11. Jonathan Pollard was never indicted for harming the United States.
12. Jonathan Pollard was never indicted for compromising codes,
agents, or war plans.
13. Jonathan Pollard was never charged with treason. [Legally, treason
is a charge that is only applicable when one spies for an enemy state
in time of war.]
14. Jonathan Pollard was indicted on only charge: one count of
passing classified information to an ally, without intent to harm the
United States.
15. At the last moment, just prior to sentencing, then-Secretary of
Defense, Caspar Weinberger delivered an 85 page classified memorandum
to the sentencing judge. In it he falsely accused Pollard of treason
and of compromising codes even though Pollard did not have clearance
to access such information. Also in the memorandum, Weinberger
advocated for a life sentence in clear violation of Pollard's plea
agreement.
By allowing Caspar Weinberger to falsely characterize
Pollard's
offense as "treason", the implication that follows is that the
country he served, Israel, is an enemy state.
16. Pollard and his attorney were shown the Weinberger memorandum only
once, just moments before sentencing - hardly adequate time to prepare
an appropriate defense to rebut the false accusations in it.
Since then, neither Pollard nor any of his cleared attorneys have ever
been allowed to access the memorandum to challenge the false charges
it contains, which is a clear violation of Pollard's constitutional
rights.
17. No one else in the history of the United States has ever received
a life sentence for passing classified information to an ally - only
Jonathan Pollard. The median sentence for this offense is two to
four years. Even agents who have committed far more serious offenses
on behalf of hostile nations have not received such a harsh sentence.
18. Pollard appealed, but his appeal was rejected - not on substance,
but on a technicality, namely: that the appeal had not been filed in
a timely manner in accord with stipulated procedures.
Appellate Justice Stephen Williams wrote a minority opinion,
calling the case "a complete and gross miscarriage of justice."
19. In November 1995, Israel granted Jonathan Pollard Israeli
citizenship. The official presentation took place in January of 1996.
This publicly signaled to the US, Israel's willingness to accept full
responsibility for Pollard.
20. U.S. Government sources falsely accuse Pollard in the media of
passing "rooms full of classified information" and "hundreds of
thousands of documents" to Israel. This volume of information is an
absurdity! Pollard would have needed to make numerous "drops" using a
moving van to have transferred such a large volume of information. In
actual fact, Jonathan Pollard made a grand total of eleven (11)
"drops" to the Israelis, using only a small briefcase to hold the
documents.
21. The formula that the Government used to exaggerate the volume of
information that Pollard passed to Israel is :
if only one page or a single sentence of a document was passed to the
Israelis, it was counted as if the whole document had been
transmitted. Even referenced documents and sources were counted as
having been transmitted in toto. Using this calculation, a single page
could be counted as 50 hard bound 500 page volumes!
22. There is no Mr. "X".
The CIA claim that another highly-placed spy in the US had to exist
in order to give Jonathan Pollard his highly specific tasking orders
is a complete fabrication. To understand how Pollard was tasked by
Israel to secure specific documents, see: "Was there another U.S. spy
tasking Pollard? - Mr. 'X' Exposed." on the web at:
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1998/020598.htm
23. On May 12, 1998 , in the same statement in which the Government of
Israel publicly acknowledged Jonathan Pollard as an Israeli agent, it
accepted full responsibility for him, and indicated its commitment to
securing his release and repatriation to Israel.
24. Jonathan Pollard has repeatedly expressed his remorse publicly and
in private letters to the President and others. He regrets having
broken the law, and is sorry he did not find a legal means to act upon
his concerns for Israel.
25. Jonathan Pollard is linked to the Middle East Peace Process. This
linkage was established without Pollard's involvement or agreement.
Historically, it was the late Prime Minister Rabin that first
linked Jonathan Pollard to the peace process in October of 1995, when
all the other more conventional means of securing his release had
failed. Although President Clinton had promised Rabin that he would
release Pollard as part of the final settlement, the President refused
to honor his promise after Rabin was assassinated.
Rabin's successor, Prime Minister Shimon Peres continued to link
Pollard to the peace process, and even went so far as to include a spy
swap as part of the deal for Pollard's release.
Later, during the Wye Plantation negotiations President Clinton
again promised to release Pollard in exchange for specific Israeli
concessions. However, once the deal was signed, the president again
reneged.
Pollard's fate to this day remains emeshed and entangled in the
Middle East peace process.
26. Five Prime Ministers of Israel and three Presidents of Israel have
all personally requested Jonathan Pollard's release from the United
States. Each one pledged to be personally responsible for their agent
who has now served 14 years in prison under harsh conditions, and who
has fully expressed his remorse. Between close friends and strong
allies, that ought to be enough.
On November 21, 1998, Jonathan Pollard entered
his fourteenth year of a life sentence
with no end in sight.
______________________________________________________________________
For further information, see also:
Countering CBS News Disinformation on Pollard
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1998/121398.htm
Jonathan Pollard Accused in the Media, Never in Court
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1998/111298.htm
No Treason in Pollard Case
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1998/102598.htm
A Most Damaging Piece on Pollard
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1996/102696.htm
CIA Aims at Pollard for Scapegoating
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1994/112594.htm
The Big Lie Still Tainting Jonathan Pollard
http://www.interlog.com/~abrooke/jp/1997/121997c.htm
******************************************************************