'A Black Mark'
I don't believe any civilized democratic country could treat its citizens this way. In my opinion, as long as Vanunu remains in prison, a black mark will disfdigure Israel's image in the world.
--Paolo Farinello, Posa, Italy, writing in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Not a Criminal Act
While secrets of defense capabilities are vital to Israel's national security, the continued imprisonment of Mr. Vanunu does not serve any constructive purpose. His actions were clearly motivated by conscience, not by any desire for personal gain. His opposition to nuclear weapons is not criminal.
--Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota in a letter to John Heid of Duluth.
From Down Under
"The Man They Won't Set Free" is the title of a cover story about Mordechai Vanunu in a recent issue of the Sydney Morning Herald. It details the anti-nuclear whistle-blower's long saga that began in Sydney in 1986.
'He's Our Son'
Mary Eoloff of St. Paul, Minnesota, in an article in Ha'aretz, an Israeli daily newspaper: "We wanted to find a way to help him and so we decided to adopt him. We hope he'll come to the U.S. He's our son."
'Not a Spy'
Daniel Rohrlich of Jerusalem in a letter to the English language edition of Ha'aretz: "[You] recently referred to Mordechai Vanunu as a "convicted spy." Vanunu was certainly convicted - after the Mossad kidnapped him from Italy - in a closed trial, the proceedings of which are still secret. But he was not a spy. He did not serve or contact any foreign government. His crime, like that of Daniel Ellsberg, was to talk and provide documentary evidence to a newspaper…."