“I have waited for this day for 30 long years, unbelievable”.
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Pollard, a former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, was arrested in 1985, eventually pleading guilty to giving Israel classified documents.
Pollard was born in Texas, but grew up in the mostly-Christian community of South Bend, Indiana, after his family moved there so his father Morris could take up a position at Notre Dame University. “It’s unbelievable. It’s an awesome moment”.
The prosecutor who handled the case, former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, said it is legitimate for the government to be concerned that Pollard might still have secrets to tell.
As part of his parole, Pollard must remain in the United States for five years, although his lawyers have asked President Barack Obama to allow him to go to Israel immediately.
But Netanyahu has urged Israelis not to celebrate too much in case that damages efforts to persuade the US government to let Pollard leave for Israel sooner.
He was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 1987 of passing reams of classified information to Israel.
Pollard, said a member of the group in a text-message to journalists, requests to respect his privacy in the coming days.
Despite the high profile campaign to secure a pardon, including a recent personal appeal to Obama by Netanyahu, in recent weeks it has become clear that Israeli politicians and Pollard’s supporters have changed tack.
“The decision I made was based on fear and concern…those were emotions that got the better of me”, he said.
Pollard passed secret information to Israel for a year in return for payments until his arrest in 1985.
Pollard was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit espionage and began serving his sentence in 1987.
In a 1998 interview with the Associated Press, Pollard said his guilty plea was coerced and expressed regret.
“There is nothing good that came as a result of my actions”, he said. “I was never able to establish friendships in my neighborhoods and was compelled to spend most of my time around the city’s Hebrew Day School, where I felt at least physically safe and emotionally protected”. “That does not work”.
Both the Justice Department and Pollard’s lawyers have so far declined to discuss details of his parole.
American Jews complained bitterly that the Pollard operation had exposed them to questions about their loyalty to the USA, while a few Israelis responded that their nervousness was proof that life in the diaspora was untenable.
“His family don’t know why supporters wouldn’t approve that”, said Representative Eliot L. Engel of NY, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who wrote last week’s letter along with Representative Jerrold Nadler, another NY Democrat.
Pollard’s case has strained relations between Israel and the United States, two close allies. Those terms include wearing a Global Positioning System ankle bracelet, having limited access to the internet, and being required to stay in the United States for the next 5 years. “But again, the President doesn’t have any plans to alter the terms of terms of his parole”. But in 1995, Israel granted him citizenship, and two years later admitted he was their agent.
As per the terms of his parole, Pollard has to check in regularly with a parole officer for a year and can be returned to prison for poor behavior. He was quietly released from the facility earlier than expected during the dark of night.
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“It’s a very unusual situation…”
