Jonathan Pollard and Jewish Law

With Israel’s release of dozens of terrorists recently as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority in order to jumpstart peace talks, Jonathan Pollard is back in the news.

To those unfamiliar, Jonathan Pollard is an American citizen convicted of passing classified information to Israel. He did so while working as an intelligence analyst for the Unites States government. Pollard pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to life in prison in 1987.

Pollard’s life sentence is somewhat disturbing considering that spying for an ally carries a penalty of 10 years in prison. Pollard has also expressed remorse for his actions, and his health is failing. Israeli officials continue to plead for his release at every possible opportunity and American Jewish community organizations lobby for him as well.

According to all accounts, there is no good reason for Pollard to remain in prison. He certainly did the crime, but he also did the time. His continued incarceration is unjust, and we must do everything we can to help secure his speedy release.

What does the Torah and Judaism have to say about this?

The issue of captives and others who are unlawfully incarcerated occupies a major area of Jewish law. The mitzva (commandment) of Pidyon Shevuyim – redeeming captives – is of utmost importance.  As the great 11th-century sage Maimonides writes:

“Redeeming captives takes precedence over supporting the poor or clothing them. There is no greater mitzva than redeeming captives for their troubles include hunger, thirst, clothing, and their life is always in danger. Ignoring the plight of captives is a violation of the following commandments: ‘Do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy fellow’ (Deut. 15:7); ‘Do not stand idly by your neighbor’s blood’ (Lev. 19:16); ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Lev. 19:18); ‘Rescue those who are near death’ (Prov. 24:122) and more. There is no greater mitzva than redeeming captives.”

Pidyon Shevuyim is one of the few commandments in the Torah that the Talmud labels “a great mitzva,” and the Code of Jewish Law adds, “Every moment that one delays in freeing captives…is considered to be tantamount to murder.”

Nevertheless, there are limitations in the performance of the mitzva of pidyon shevuyim. For example, we are told that we should not pay exorbitant ransoms for captives lest doing so encourages other bandits to kidnap people for ransom. Indeed, we do not redeem captives “for more than their value.” This, of course, is a major issue when discussing exchanging Palestinian prisoners for kidnapped Israeli soldiers, as was the case with Gilad Shalit. Shalit was exchanged for more than 1000 terrorists. Many argued that such an exchange was just too exorbitant and unjustified and would only encourage further kidnappings of IDF soldiers.

There is also the famous case of Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg who was the world-renowned rabbinic authority of the 13th century. In 1286 King Rudolf I began a campaign against the Jews and took away all their rights and freedoms. Rabbi Meir tried to leave the oppressive kingdom but was eventually caught and sent to prison in Alsace, France. The authorities demanded an unreasonable sum for the release of Rabbi Meir – a sum which for the most part was successfully raised. Nevertheless, Rabbi Meir refused to allow the community to pay this ransom, ruling that it was “more than his value.” He remained in prison for the rest of his life, dying there seven years later. Even after his death he remained in captivity for an additional 14 years, when his body was finally ransomed and sent for Jewish burial.

The Pollard issue is especially painful. The US has  welcomed and treated the Jewish people better than any country in the history of our Diaspora. On the other hand, Pollard was helping an ally and has served more time than required by law. He should be released without delay. We continue to pray and lobby for his release and we are confident that this painful chapter in American-Israeli relations will soon be behind us.

Author: Rabbi Ari Enkin, Rabbinic Director, United with Israel
Date: Jan. 5, 2013