A response to Jonathan Pollard’s statements

So, Jonathan Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison for leaking US secrets to Israel as a US national security agent, but was later released and moved to Israel, has just given an interview where he defended his actions. He related what advice he would give to a young Jewish person facing the dilemma that he did, so I think it is only fair that I, a young Jewish American (though not working in security), can advise him on what I would do if I were him.

One of the major themes of the Torah is accountability. The more power is trusted to you, the more obligations you have. You show accountability in two ways: by keeping your covenants, and by taking responsibility for your actions. On both counts, Jonathan Pollard fails. Jonathan Pollard entered a covenant with the United States government, and then broke it. He should have either kept his covenant, or if he couldn’t keep it in good conscience, he shouldn’t have entered into it in the first place. However, if he truly felt that leaking US secrets was the only choice he could make with a clear conscience, the least he could do was accept the consequences. Instead, he fled to Israel to avoid his jail term, and now makes weak excuses that amount to “anyone would have done what I did.” The least he could do now is to own his values and decisions as his own, and accept the harm he caused to the US in general and to US Jews in particular.