An Appeal to President Clinton to Commute Jonathan Pollard's Sentence to Time Served

Adopted at the 62nd General Assembly
October, 1993
San Francisco, CA

BACKGROUND
Jonathan J. Pollard was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to one count of delivering classified information to a foreign government, Israel. Mr. Pollard has served over seven years in solitary confinement.

In no way do we condone breaking the law and we do not claim that Jonathan Pollard is innocent of the crime he was charged with. However, his sentence is grossly disproportionate to sentences that others have received for comparable espionage offenses. Only those who spied for enemy nations have received life sentences. No other individual convicted of disclosing information to an ally has received such a sentence. A more typical sentence for an offense comparable to Pollard's is considerably less than the seven and a half years he has already served.

Many religious and community leaders and organizations have supported the reduction of commutation of Jonathan Pollard's sentence, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis. THEREFORE, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations resolves to:

  1. Ask President Clinton to commute Jonathan Pollard's sentence to time served.