What Is He Apologizing For Again?

get this .. richard jones, the US ambassador in israel apologized for remarks he made when he suggested that his country had been too lenient for not executing jonathan pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the US navy who sold military secrets to israel while working at the pentagon .. he was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty at his trial .. he is currently serving a life sentence in a US federal prison.

here is what he said ..
It came out in the trial very clearly, Jonathan Pollard took money for what he did, he sold out his country. The fact that he wasn't executed is the mercy that Jonathan Pollard will receive.

and here is the apology ..
I apologize for the remarks I made this morning regarding the case of Mr. Jonathan Pollard, which were misinformed and misleading. I certainly do not personally believe that Mr. Pollard should have received capital punishment and I was appalled to learn that I had given that impression. I regret any distress that I may have caused Mr. Pollard’s family and loved ones.
This is a very emotional issue in the United States. I know he was helping a friend but that's what makes it even more emotional for Americans, if a friend would cooperate in aiding and abetting someone who is committing treason against his own country.
He also said that the statements do not reflect his personal views nor those of the US administration.

some of the criticisms ..

Pollard's wife ..
Malicious incitement against both Jonathan and Israel .. For one thing, the U.S. has no death penalty for the charge on which Jonathan was accused or convicted. It has a death penalty only for treason - and Jones knows that Jonathan was never accused of treason. It is merely because Israel seems to have abandoned its agent in the field that the American Ambassador feels he can get away with talking like this .. And where is Israel?! How can it be that the US Ambassador says that an Israeli agent deserved to be executed, and Israel is silent?!

MK Uri Ariel, the head of the Knesset lobby for Pollard ..
The Foreign Minister should personally demand an immediate apology.
For spying for a friendly country, no one has ever received a sentence even close to the sentence that Pollard has served thus far - 22 years! ... The remarks by Jones border on anti-Semitism and a hostile attitude towards Israel .. Israel was forced to employ Pollard as its agent only because America betrayed our trust and hid critical information from us regarding chemical weapons and anti-Israeli terrorist plots in Arab nations, in blatant violation of agreements we had with the US which we kept in full .. The fact that Israel does not demand his release even after 22 years is endangering an agent that Israel sent on a mission - and also paves the way for statements like those made by Jones.