The accused spy Jonathan Pollard, along with his lawyer Elliott Lawyer, left the federal court in New York following the 2016 trial. The former U.S. Navy inspector, who spent three decades in prison for pleading guilty to spying for Israel, has returned to Israel a month after the judiciary allowed his parole to expire.
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The accused spy Jonathan Pollard, along with his lawyer Elliott Lawyer, left the federal court in New York following the 2016 trial. The former U.S. Navy inspector, who spent three decades in prison for pleading guilty to spying for Israel, has returned to Israel a month after the judiciary allowed his parole to expire.
Larry Newmister / A.P.
Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy inspector who spent three decades in prison after being accused of spying for Israel, has arrived in Israel a month after the U.S. Department of Justice allowed his parole to expire.
A private jet with Pollard and his wife Esther landed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv early Wednesday morning. Esther, who is reportedly undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, is seeking medical treatment in Israel, but the couple is reportedly planning to immigrate to Israel permanently.
Read the headline “Finally in the country. Jonathan Pollard landed in Israel tonight.” Israel Home Pollard and his wife, wearing masks, traveled to Newark, NJ.
Jonathan, how nice of you to be home
(Photo from Boaz Bismuth’s Twitter) pic.twitter.com/mSrbThgYML
– omer yankelevitch (@omeryankelevitc) December 30, 2020
Pollard, a Jew, was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995, his lawyer Elliott Lawyer said while in prison in the United States. The Times of Israel Pollard, who came to Israel, “speaks for himself, a dream come true after 35 very difficult years.”
Pollard was arrested in 1985 and charged with spying for Israel. He later pleaded guilty, but was sentenced to life in prison. At the time, he Claim claimed He only stole the secrets of a US ally because “the US intelligence agency collectively endangered Israel’s security by withholding sensitive information.”
While working as a naval inspector and dealing in secret materials in the mid-1980s, Pollard contacted an Israeli intelligence agent in New York and began sending American secrets to Israel in exchange for gifts and tens of thousands of dollars.
The intelligence passed to Israel contained top-secret satellite imagery and information about Soviet weapons. “Damage assessment” US intelligence.
Pollard’s spy discovery severely affected US-Israeli relations.
Despite repeated calls from Israeli activists to reduce his sentence, U.S. officials have strongly objected, citing Pollard’s damage to the U.S. intelligence community.
Jim Downsent, a former senior Pentagon officer who joined Naval Intelligence as a depot around Pollard, was quoted as saying, “The Navy plan was shockingly done right under their noses.” The New York Times As the saying goes.
At the time of his release from federal prison in Patna, NC, in 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I have long hoped that this day will come, as Jonathan raised the case with successive U.S. presidents over the years.”
Last month, five years after his release, the judiciary allowed Pollard’s parole to expire, freeing him to travel to Israel.
As Trump prepares to step down next month, the judiciary ‘move to end Pollard’s parole is widely seen as a separate gift to Netanyahu, who has enjoyed close ties with President Trump. Pollard’s visit to Israel could provide political impetus to Netanyahu, who is embroiled in a bitter re-election battle.
