Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians are about to run out of oxygen. The final weeks of a nine-month negotiating window closes at the end of April and the two sides still stand far apart. The talks could end in a matter of days with disturbing consequences.
 Secretary of State John Kerry has an idea: How about releasing Jonathan Pollard, the convicted American spy who has already spent almost three decades in prison for passing information to Israel?
According to a number of reports, a deal to free Pollard and extend talks through 2015 is in the works.
Pollard has nothing to do with the two-state solution, with the future status of Jerusalem, with whether or not Palestinians will ever recognize Israel as a Jewish state, with West Bank settlements, or with any of the issues in dispute.
But releasing him could give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu some political cover to make unpopular decisions.
Over the years, a growing number of Israelis -- along with many prominent U.S. officials -- have come to see the severity of the sentence imposed on the former civilian intelligence analyst as a gross injustice.
A major turning point in perception of the case came when a former U.S. assistant secretary of Defense made an explosive accusation about why Pollard is serving a life sentence. Lawrence Korb, who worked in the Department of Defense when Pollard's crime came to light, wrote a letter to President Barack Obama urging Pollard's release. "I can say with confidence," he told the President, "that the severity of Pollard's sentence is a result of an almost visceral dislike of Israel ... on the part of my boss at the time, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger."