State Dept Press Corps Angry ‘Israel is Pushing Pollard Release’ By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus See note please
The State Department spokesperson suggested, although this was deleted from the official transcript, that Israel is the party which raised the Pollard release.
I think that Pollard’s sentence is unfairly long and harsh since so many real traitors are now free. However, it is unconscionable to link his release to suicidal concessions by Israel….rskn Tuesday’s daily press briefing conducted by the State Department spokesperson Marie Harf, several members of the media insinuated that it was Israel that raised the issue of Jonathan Pollard’s release from prison, as a condition for continuing the U.S. mediated “peace process” negotiations currently underway.
In fact, in a briefing that lasted less than 35 minutes, more than a third of the time was spent on the issue of Jonathan Pollard, and every one of the questions asked by the State Department press corps appeared to be an effort to convince the State Department that what they all characterized as an Israeli effort to get Pollard released was an outrage.
It was the first set of questions that was raised, it was the penultimate set of questions, and the questions were raised by no fewer than five different journalists, representing media outlets from across the globe.
Throughout the questioning, Harf maintained a solid line of no comment. She refused to comment on whether Pollard’s release was a matter under discussion during the “peace talks.”
The one definitive statement made repeatedly by Harf was “the President has not made a decision to release Jonathan Pollard.”
But several extraordinary things happened during the press conference, that is, extraordinary in addition to what seemed to be a united front by the journalists who were cross-examining the State Department spokesperson as to why would the U.S. buckle under a demand from Israel to release a convicted spy.
First, a significant comment made by Harf was deleted from the official transcript. That deletion specifically appeared to confirm for the journalists that Israel was the party which had raised the release of Pollard, rather than, as was the general sense in the Israeli media, that it was the U.S. who raised the issue in a desperate attempt to keep the “peace talks” alive.
Reproduced below, is the first relevant section of the transcript of Tuesday’s briefing. Even before this question, it should be noted, the journalist asking this first series of questions claimed that it was Abbas who cancelled the meeting with Secretary of State Kerry, not the other way around, as it has been generally reported.
QUESTION: (at 2:55) Do you want to give us some kind of readout on how it was that the Pollard release was put back up on the table? I know there’s been a lot of conflicting information over the last week, when these reports first surfaced in the Israeli press. We’d like a little clarification on exactly when and why and how, and whether or not Pollard’s release is still on the table, given that Abbas looks like he – that is what’s making him negative on the process right now. (at 3:23)
MS. HARF: (at 3:24) Well, a few points on that. First, the President has not made a decision to release Jonathan Pollard. I want to be very clear about that. Jonathan Pollard was convicted of espionage and is serving his sentence. I don’t have any further update on his status to provide today. In terms of this being a topic, (at 3:38)
THIS IS WHERE THE AUDIOTAPE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE AND THE TRANSCRIPT DIFFER DRAMATICALLY. WHAT HARF SAID AS REVEALED IN THE AUDIOTAPE, THOUGH IT DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE TRANSCRIPT AT ALL, IS:
it should be uh no surprise that the Israelis have frequently raised Jonathan Pollard in our discussions, uh, uh, throughout the peace process or at large, but I’m not going to get (at 3:50)
AND THEN THE TRANSCRIPT AND THE AUDIOTAPE RESUME TRACKING:
(at 3:51) into any of the details of the discussions that they’ve had with Secretary Kerry.
THE BRIEFING CONTINUES:
QUESTION: (at 3:55) There’s a fundamental difference here. I mean, as we’ve talked before, the Israelis have raised the issue of Jonathan Pollard’s release annually, perennially, quite frequently.
MS. HARF: Consistently. Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: Right. The difference here is that it is now not being pushed off the table by the Americans. I think previous presidents have said thanks for bringing it up, we’re not going to consider it, or whatever. Even two – I think a couple of months ago or some time ago President Obama made a similar statement, saying we’re looking at his case and thanks for your – thanks for playing, basically. This seems to be a different situation.
MS. HARF: Well, I’m not going to characterize what the discussions consist of on this or any other topic that are going on right now or sort of further characterize them in any way than I just said. Obviously, the team on the ground is talking to both sides about a variety of issues, and on this I just think we’re not going to have much more today.
QUESTION: Would you agree that this seems to be a different situation than it has been in the past when the Israelis have raised it?
MS. HARF: I – in terms of Pollard?
QUESTION: Yes.
MS. HARF: I don’t want to characterize it that way. Obviously, in any peace process – this is a peace process that’s going on – been going on for decades now. Broadly speaking, not specific to Pollard, it’s different every time you take a look at it. The issues – the issues don’t change, but how you get to final agreement is obviously a topic that there’s still some work to be done on, because we clearly haven’t gotten there yet. So I don’t want to compare it to any previous situation, don’t want to further characterize the conversation in any other way.
QUESTION: Okay. Would you care to respond to experts and former U.S. officials who have been involved in these types of negotiations who question the wisdom of bringing this up at this point in the negotiations, just to even continue the talks as opposed to a final agreement or a final settlement, which is, I think in the past with Wye River, is what was the concern then?
MS. HARF: Well, again, as I said, the President has not made a decision to release Jonathan Pollard, and I would caution anyone not involved in the talks from presuming to know what’s going on in them, even if people have been involved in them in the past. So I guess there’s a lot of analysis out there. Quite frankly, that’s not what we’re focused on. What we’re focused on right now is the teams on the ground. They are talking to both sides. They are trying to make progress. And we are looking forward to the Secretary going back tomorrow.
QUESTION: Marie, is –
MS. HARF: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: — you said the President has not made his decision. But is the Administration actively discussing and thinking about springing Pollard?
MS. HARF: I don’t have any more details for you on what discussions on any issue look like on the ground.
QUESTION: And one follow-up to your question, Lara, was in terms of this being unprecedented. Why is the United States as a mediator in this discussion actively taking such an active role? And shouldn’t this – shouldn’t it be between the Palestinians and the Israelis? Why is the United States having to put something like a prisoner release on the table?
MS. HARF: Well, I haven’t confirmed one way or the other what is or isn’t on the table as part of these negotiations. You’re right in that we do play a facilitation role, but it’s a very active facilitation role between the two parties. You’ve seen that throughout the now eight months we’ve been at the negotiating table. In fact, it’s because of Secretary Kerry, I think in large part his efforts and the courage we saw on both sides, both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, that we actually even got back to the table. So I’m just not going to confirm one way or the other any issue that’s being discussed, or quite frankly, what our internal discussions look like.
QUESTION: During negotiations – and I’m not an expert – but does the facilitator normally put something into the deal?
MS. HARF: Well, again, that would be getting into a discussion about issues that I’m just not going to discuss in detail from here. Discussions are ongoing.
Yes, Nicolas. And then we’ll go to –
QUESTION: Can I try again on Pollard?
MS. HARF: You guys can keep trying.
QUESTION: So you said you don’t want to compare with previous situations –
MS. HARF: Mm-hmm. I don’t want to compare this negotiation writ large to any previous negotiation. It’s different times. We’re just –
QUESTION: Okay. But is it –
MS. HARF: – it’s different people involved. I just don’t think it’s useful to compare it.
QUESTION: Okay. So would you say that it’s – the topic, the issue ,is more on the table this time that it used to be?
MS. HARF: I’m not characterizing the issue one – in any way, whether it’s on the table, how it’s on the table. I’m just not characterizing it. It was a good try though.
QUESTION: Aside from the negotiations that are currently happening and have happened, I’m curious also to see if you care to respond to those in the intelligence community who are also concerned about the merits of releasing Pollard and the message that would send to folks like him that you can do this kind of thing and be released. But obviously, there have been a lot of warnings from past CIA directors and various folks in the intelligence community who weren’t against the wisdom of releasing him.
MS. HARF: Well, again, the President has not made a decision to release him, so I don’t want to get ahead of things. I’m not going to get into the details of the discussions on the ground. Obviously, I’m aware of the history but don’t have any further comment on it.
Anything else on Middle East peace? I answered all of your questions on Middle East peace. Pretty good. What else? Yes.
*********
The briefing then continues. Other topics are addressed, until it is nearly concluded. At 26 minutes into what turned out to be a 32 minute briefing, Said Arikat, the Washington Bureau Chief for Al-Quds newspaper, raised some questions about the Middle East. Arikat, who had apparently just arrived at the briefing, asked several questions about Abbas, and then he also raised the issue of Jonathan Pollard.
Al-Quds is the largest circulation Palestinian Arabic newspaper.
Arikat, after repeatedly pressing Harf to speak about the Pollard issue, and mentioning that perhaps the number of Arabs to be released is “420,” then makes an astounding statement:
QUESTION: (at 30:10) Let me ask you something. If Mr. Pollard is released, is that a – what kind of precedent will that set? I mean, what is likely to happen to someone like another convicted spy, like Walker and others, and so on?
MS. HARF: Said, the President has not made a decision to release Jonathan Pollard. I am not going to speculate on any hypothetical situation at all.
***********
And not one member of the press corps burst out laughing at the idea that Arikat, representing a Palestinian Arab newspaper for a people and a government which has repeatedly demanded that every single convicted murderer in Israeli prisons must be released as a condition of the “peace process,” is worried about the precedent that might be set by releasing Jonathan Pollard.
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