January 8, 2008

"Jerusalem square to be named after Pollard"

From the Jewish Telegraph Agency:

A Jerusalem square will be symbolically dedicated to Jonathan Pollard ahead of President Bush's visit to Israel.

Mina Fenton, a Jerusalem city councilwoman, announced this week that the capital's Paris Square will be symbolically renamed "Pollard Square" in a ceremony on Jan. 7, two days before George W. Bush begins his first visit as U.S. president to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The move is meant to help lobby Bush to pardon Pollard, a former U.S. Navy analyst who is serving a life prison sentence for spying for Israel. Bush leaves office in 2009.

Paris Square is located between the U.S. Consulate in west Jerusalem and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's official residence. Fenton said there are no plans to formally change the square's name.

On Monday, the Knesset State Control Committee decided to ask State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss to prepare a confidential special report on Israeli government efforts to secure the release of Johnathon Pollard.

Successive U.S. administrations have refused to grant clemency to Pollard, who is considered a Jewish hero by many Israelis.
Pollard was a cokehead who stole some of the crown jewels of our national security secrets -- information relating to the our nuclear missile submarine deterrent -- in return for money from the Israelis. (The Israeli government is widely believed to have then bartered the American secrets to the Soviets. I wouldn't know, but that's what I hear.)

Perhaps in response, Times Square in New York should be renamed "U.S.S. Liberty Square"?

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

there was an hollywood film called 'breach' released last year about the spy robert hannsen featuring relentless religious catholic imagery interspersed with treasonable acts against the united states. the filmmakers and producers were extremely heavy handed in the message that catholicism and/or christianity was the key element in the motivations of hannsen.

you can be sure that attempting to produce a comparable film detailing the outrageous treasonous acts of jonathan pollard and emphasizing the crucial role judaism played in his motivation to commit treason would not only cost you a career in entertainment but probably cost you your mental and physical health as well.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401997/

Anonymous said...

I saw "Breach", and thought it was pretty good. Hansen is deeply religious (or at least deeply committed to religiousity). He's a member of Opus Dei. If anything the movie oberved the disparity between those two facets of his life - being an arch-Catholic and spying for the Soviets - and suggested (perhaps) that one was a compensation for the other. I didn't see it as gratuitous or Catholic-bashing. My read on it, anyway.

Anonymous said...

This is "old fashioned" wrong, and a dissapointing gesture on behalf of the Israelis. We should protect our secrets just as Israel should protect theirs.

Pollard took an oath, and for money broke it.

Francis K's comment is also sadly true, a movie critical of Pollard that emphasized his motivations would never be made no matter who wanted to star in it.

Anonymous said...

Hannsen spied for money. The Navy family that sold secrets to the Soviets (not Jews btw) did it for money. Alger Hiss (old line WASP) did it for ideology. So did the Army sergeant that gave Stalin most of the important Nuke material. The "Falcon and the Snowman" did it for thrills and money. So too the CIA agent Aldrich Ames. There's another FBI agent that did it for sex and money (a Chinese agent seduced and used him to get secrets).

People will betray their country for a whole bunch of reasons. Sex and money predominate, but ideology can play a part too. None of that relates to religion, race, or much of anything else. Britain's traitors were all old-money minor nobility with "nary a Jew" among them. Trilby, McClean, and so on.

Why would Israel deal with the USSR sworn to it's destruction and funding it's enemies? Steve you believe the worst of Jews universally and it's why you draw all the anti-semites around. The same way Ronulans are made up of Stormfront, David Duke, and Gold Bug nutcases. It's a shame since you are incisive and valuable in other areas. It's also a mental weakness.

The French spy on us. The Brits spy on us. Bill Clinton opened up everything for the Chinese in exchange for Charlie Trie money. I'm sure the Latvians probably spy on us. It's important to stop it where you can. And spy on them also.

Pollard is a pathetic figure, used by Mossad and then betrayed. He was duped into thinking he was giving Israel vital info to defeat an upcoming attack that would be "genocidal" in nature. He deserves to stay in jail for the rest of his life (as an object lesson) but he's also a sad figure that more warning about espionage and taking it seriously could have avoided.

Anonymous said...

"Perhaps in response, Times Square in New York should be renamed "U.S.S. Liberty Square"?"

One square named after a spy and another named after a spy ship? It would have a certain symmetry.

Steve Sailer said...

My impression is that Pollard was a druggie who stole secrets for money for drugs, and his subsequent claims to be a great Jewish patriot are just post hoc political maneuvering as he tries to get out of jail. But, maybe I'm wrong.

Anonymous said...

People will betray their country for a whole bunch of reasons. Sex and money predominate, but ideology can play a part too. None of that relates to religion, race, or much of anything else.

Writing ridiculous things down doesn't make them true. As though ideology is never related to race and religion. You remind me of that Iraqi spokesman announcing crushing defeats for the US army as it rumbled ever nearer Baghdad.

Pollard is a pathetic figure, used by Mossad and then betrayed. He was duped into thinking he was giving Israel vital info to defeat an upcoming attack that would be "genocidal" in nature.

Used? Betrayed? Duped? Careful, Evil: you're playing to some vicious stereotypes there.

Anonymous said...

How arrogant has Israel become? It's a pretty good litmus test to measure the contempt they feel for us and how they think they have congress wrapped around their finger.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps we should rename it "Vanunu Square," after Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli Jew of Moroccan ancestry who allegedly revealed Israeli nuclear secrets to a British newspaper. He was kidnapped from Rome by agents of the Mossad, tried in secret and served a long prison term in Israel (sort of reminds me of what the KGB did to Nathan Sharansky). He is now being held under house arrest in Jerusalem and denied the right to emigrate. Oh, by the way, he converted to Christianity, which, I suppose, makes him doubly damned in the eyes of the Israelis. Perhaps some of those right-wing American Christians who are always gushing over Israel might like to examine the plight of their coreligionists such as Vanunu and the Arab Christians, who receive such wonderful treatment from the Israelis (yes, I know, they are treated even worse by the Arab Muslims, but I haven't heard of too many American fundamentalist preachers thumping the drums for "God's people," the Muslims).

Anonymous said...

Steve,

You are quite correct that the information that Pollard gave them about our nuclear subs was subsequently sold to the Soviets in return for emigration visas for Russian jews. This information came out in the mid 90's, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Pollard deserves imprisonment for what he did. The Israelis were acting in their own national interests, just as everyone else does.

Our "allies" are allies, whenever it fits their national interests. Toshiba sold our propeller grinding technology (this allowed our nuclear subs to travel undetected) to the Soviet Union in 1987. Apparently, this sale was organized with the approval of Toshiba's top management.

LanceThruster said...

I think the danger of 'sayan' is that they convince themselves of the righteousness of their actions as well as feel that they have a safety net in the support of Israel should things go south.

Anonymous said...

..One square named after a spy and another named after a spy ship? It would have a certain symmetry.

It would if they shot Jonathon Pollard full of as many holes as the Israelis did to the Liberty.

Anonymous said...

I think the danger of 'sayan' is that they convince themselves of the righteousness of their actions as well as feel that they have a safety net in the support of Israel should things go south.

That's not at all unique to Sayan; quite the opposite.

Anonymous said...

Ronulans are made up of Stormfront, David Duke, and Gold Bug nutcases.

Hell of a lot of people to label WNs and conspiracy nuts. WNs + conspiracy nuts polling 9% of U.S. state primaries?

Where the hell's the NAAWP?

Anonymous said...

The Israelis were acting in their own national interests, just as everyone else does.

Everyone except us, that is...