Pollard first wife, Anne, was convicted of helping him try to cover up his crime, and spent three years in prison. He is bald with a white beard and fluffy tufts of white hair around his ears. He is seen as a traitor by many Americans, one who damaged trust between the United States and its Jewish citizens. The Israeli government even paid for his attorneys and later granted him citizenship.
Advertisement
At 9:09 a.m., a Twitter user posted a photo of the ex-spy with his wife and another man (whom Tablet Magazine speculated was National Council of Young Israel’s former executive, Rabbi Pesach Lerner) at the corner of Houston Street and Second Avenue, on the Lower East Side. Israel Today, a newspaper that serves as somewhat of a mouthpiece for Netanyahu, had reported on Thursday that the PM had personally appealed to President Obama during their meeting earlier this month to lift the standard prohibition on parolees leaving the United States, but to no response.
Pollard’s supporters have long argued that documents he stole were intelligence that should have been passed to Israel anyway – they were vital to security and should have been shared as part of a memorandum of agreement between the countries.
Netanyahu said on Twitter that “the people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard” and that he “had long hoped this day would come”.
Pollard’s supporters, who have long maintained that he was punished excessively for actions taken on behalf of an American ally, are pressing the Obama administration to permit him to move immediately to Israel despite parole requirements that he remain in the U.S for at least five years.
In 2014 many in the Israeli media speculated about a deal between the USA secretary of state, John Kerry, and Netanyahu that would free Pollard in exchange for a freeze on contentious Israeli settlements.
In a letter to Pollard, the chairman of the Knesset caucus dedicated to Pollard, MK Nahman Shai wrote, “Jonathan, the Caucus will not cease its activity until we remove the limitations imposed on you upon your release. He is happy”, said Lahav.
But after years of Israel repeatedly seeking Pollard’s release, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed his release on his verified Twitter account.
“Anyone who obtained as much information as Mr. Pollard did over an extended period of time is perfectly capable of revealing… information that he might have in his brain locked away somewhere”, he said. He is required to get permission from his probation officer before he leaves the district where he resides, and his access to the Internet – which was not around when he was arrested – is limited.
Speaking to Central Intelligence Agency profilers during his time in jail, Pollard said of his youth: ‘I suddenly found myself confronting a community in which racism and bigotry were acceptable social practices.
“American officials understand that he is out of jail; we can’t give more details”, said the spokesman, who asked that his name not be printed to avert private focus. “He should be fully released, not only literally released”. “It’s unbelievable. It’s an fantastic moment”.
Advertisement
“It was obvious they were going to arrest us”, she said. However, Pollard did mention in an interview in 1998 that he regrets having to become a spy and would have rather moved to Israel to serve his country, according to CNN. He later told colleagues he had been “cultivated” by the Mossad to spy on the United States. If he comes out of prison shooting off his mouth, there will be plenty of incentive for the government to make sure he stays put in NY for every day of that five years before traveling to a hero’s welcome in Tel Aviv.
