washington | In a gesture of forgiveness for an American considered a hero in Israel, President George W. Bush last week granted a posthumously pardon to a man who broke the law to supply aircraft to Jews fighting in Israel’s 1948 war of independence.
Charles Winters was listed in a batch of 19 pardons and one commutation that Bush issued Dec. 23 before leaving for Camp David for the holidays.
In the summer of 1948, Winters, a non-Jewish Miami businessman who exported produce, worked with others to transfer two converted B-17 “Flying Fortresses” to Israel’s defense forces. He personally flew one of the aircraft from Miami to Czechoslovakia, where that plane and a third B-17 were retrofitted for use as bombers.
The three B-17s were the only heavy bombers in the Israeli Air Force. It is reported that counterattacks with the bombers helped turn the war in Israel’s favor. In March 1961, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir issued a letter of commendation to Winters to recognize his contributions to Israel’s survival as an independent state.
Over the years, Winters, a Protestant from Boston who settled in the Miami area, told his family little of his conviction in 1949 for violating the Neutrality Act for conspiring to export aircraft to a foreign country. He was fined $5,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Two others, Herman Greenspun and Al Schwimmer, also were convicted of violating the act, but they did not serve time. President John F. Kennedy pardoned Greenspun in 1961, and President Bill Clinton pardoned Schwimmer in 2000.
Reginald Brown, an attorney who worked on the Winters pardon, said Bush’s action “rights a historical wrong and honors Charlie’s belief that the creation of the Jewish state was a moral imperative of his time … Charlie Winters helped shape human history for the better.”
Film director Steven Spielberg wrote a letter to Bush appealing for a pardon for Winters.
“There are probably many unsung heroes of America and of Israel, but Charlie Winters is surely one of them,” wrote the “Schindler’s List” director. “While a pardon cannot make Charlie Winters whole, and regrettably he did not live to see it, it would be a fitting tribute to his memory and a great blessing to his family if this pardon is granted.”
Winters died Oct. 30, 1984, at the age of 71. At his request, he was buried in a Christian cemetery near the Jewish cemetery of the Knights Templar in Jerusalem.
With the recent batch of pardons, Bush has granted a total of 190 pardons and nine commutations. That’s fewer than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Ronald Reagan issued during their two terms.
Jonathan Pollard, who was found guilty of spying against the US for Israel and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987, did not receive a pardon.
However, Pollard was recently offered the top slot on the right-wing Eretz Yisrael Shelanu ticket, an attempt to secure his release by turning him into a Knesset member. His family declined to accept the offer, saying the fight for his release should not identified with any specific political agenda. Pollard is an Israeli citizen.
“If he were to become a [Knesset member] he would enjoy certain immunities which would increase pressure on the U.S. for his release,” said Shay Gefen, a party spokesman. “We respect the family’s wishes, but during our campaign we will work to increase awareness of the injustice being perpetrated against Pollard.”
The Jerusalem Post contributed to this report.