Convicted Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, is due to be released November 20, after 30 years in jail, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Tuesday.
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In return for Pollard’s cooperation with the U.S. government, the U.S. attorney said he would not seek a life sentence.
Yet Pollard’s release should never have been based on political concerns, as opposed to the merits of the case: He spied and betrayed his country, and received thousands in cash for it. As for the Jewish community, his act brought shame and charges of dual loyalty. Critics – including prosecutors and government officials – called him a traitor who damaged the nation by disclosing a trove of sensitive documents.
“I am looking forward to being reunited with my beloved wife Esther”, Pollard said through his attorneys.
Some observers, noted the timing of the release announcement coming on the heels of the Iranian nuclear deal, which has further strained Israeli-U.S. relations.
“It’s an attempt to use his release, it seems, to advance other issues that don’t have to do with it, like the agreement with Iran”, said Nahman Shai an opposition MP and chairman of the Knesset lobby.
US Secretary of State John Kerry denied Pollard’s release was linked in any way to the Iran nucl …
Pollard, now 60, is required by the Parole Commission to remain in the United States for five years after he is freed, and his lawyers indicated in the statement that he has secured housing and employment in the New York area. That appears unlikely and his lawyers have said that he has a job and a place to live set up in the United States.
Department lawyers did not contest his parole bid, which was granted following a hearing this month before the U.S. Parole Commission that took into account Pollard’s behavior in prison and whether he was likely to commit new crimes if released. His former boss at the Office of Naval Intelligence, retired admiral Thomas Brooks, has said that Pollard revealed the methods used by the US to collect information, specifically against the Soviet Union.
The U.S. Parole Commission has issued a Notice of Action granting parole to our pro bono client Jonathan J. Pollard. His release was again floated last year as part of a failed last-ditch effort to save Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The United States is grating parole to Jonathan Pollard after three decades of imprisonment on charges of spying for Israel.
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National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey said the decision has nothing to do with the Iran deal, but instead was a recognition that Pollard met the conditions for release. The White House later shot down that prospect, saying Pollard committed “very serious crimes” and will serve his sentence under the law. So long as Jonathan Pollard is locked away, the message to other turncoats-like Edward Snowden-will be clear: Betray your oath and country, and free lifetime lodging at government expense awaits at a federal facility near you. “This is something different because Iran is seen in existential terms, so I don’t think you can draw much of a connection between the two”.
