Former intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard, whose spying for Israel created a serious breach in U.S-Israeli relations, has been granted parole and will be released in November after serving 30 years of a life sentence, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
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The U.S. had previously dangled the prospect of his release, including during Israel-Palestinian talks last year, when the Obama administration considered the possibility of freeing Pollard early as part of a package of incentives to keep Israel at the negotiating table.
With much joy and gratitude to Hashem, Agudath Israel of America warmly welcomes the announcement that Jonathan Pollard will be released on parole November 21, 2015.
“We are grateful and delighted”, said a statement from Pollard’s lawyers, Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, “that our client will be released soon”.
Pollard’s lawyers said they were notified by the Justice Department on Jul 1 that it would not seek denial of parole at his Jul 7 parole hearing at the federal prison in Buttner, North Carolina where he is held.
“After decades of effort, Jonathan Pollard will finally be released”, Netanyahu’s office quoted him as saying.
Pollard was arrested in November 1985 as he tried unsuccessfully to gain asylum in Israel’s Washington embassy.
In a statement issued by his attorneys, Pollard said that he “is looking forward to being reunited with his beloved wife Esther” and expressed thanks to supporters in the United States and Israel. “Now, that term is almost up – and the Justice Department did not stand in the way of his release”.
Pollard’s lawyers, who announced the parole ruling, also said it was “not connected to recent developments in the Middle East”. “The decision to grant parole was made unanimously by the three members of the Parole Commission, who make their decisions independently of any other US government agency”, they said. He pleaded guilty in 1987 to spying for Israel while he worked for US Navy intelligence.
We understand that Mr. Pollard wishes to move to Israel and establish residence there.
A damage assessment by the CIA described Pollard’s espionage career as “short but intensive, ” consisting of “biweekly deliveries of classified material, ” including suitcases full of sensitive U.S. intelligence files on Arab, Pakistani and Soviet military capabilities.
Israel, in a gesture of solidarity, granted Pollard citizenship in 1995 while he was imprisoned.
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“After 30 years too many, the moment we have yearned for has come”, said Israeli agriculture minister Uri Ariel.
