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Agence France-Presse

Jonathan Pollard, an American jailed in the US in 1985 for spying for Israel, landed in the Jewish state on Wednesday, where he was received by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pollard, 66, served 30 years in prison for giving away classified US documents, and had been confined by parole terms to the US since his release in 2015, despite Israeli pressure to allow him to leave.
The US Justice Department removed the terms and conditions last month.
Pollard arrived on a private plane provided by American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire supporter of both Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.
A video distributed by the prime minister’s office showed Pollard and his wife Esther walking down the stairs of a plane toward Netanyahu, who raised his hand in welcome.
Pollard then removed his mask and got down on his hands and knees to kiss the Israeli ground, with Esther following suit.
Netanyahu along with Pollard said the traditional Jewish blessings for something long-awaited happening and for prisoners being released, before handing him an Israeli identity card.
“You’re home,” the Israeli premier told the two.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Jonathan and Esther Pollard upon their arrival in Israel, early this morning. The Prime Minister was moved to meet them on the tarmac next to the plane where they recited the Shehecheyanu blessing together.https://t.co/jfZ4WseH3g pic.twitter.com/6Xno3yJPdY
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) December 30, 2020

Pollard said he and Esther were “ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years, and we thank the people and the prime minister of Israel for bringing us home”.
“We hope to become productive citizens as soon and as quickly as possible and to get on with our lives here,” he said.
Israel has imposed its third nationwide lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus and current restrictions compel anyone entering the country to spend at least 10 days in quarantine in a government-selected hotel.
There was no immediate indication as to whether Pollard and his wife had been exempted from those restrictions.
‘I did it for the money’: the Chinese spy who gave up state secrets
Pollard was a US Navy intelligence analyst in the mid-1980s when he made contact with an Israeli colonel in New York and began sending US secrets to Israel in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars.
Pollard, who is Jewish, passed thousands of crucial US documents to Israel, straining relations between the two close allies.
Israel’s October 1985 raid on the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s Tunis headquarters that killed around 60 people was planned with information from Pollard, according to CIA documents declassified in 2012.
He was arrested in 1985 and was sentenced to life in prison two years later, despite pleading guilty in a deal his lawyers expected would result in a more lenient sentence.

After his release in 2015, he was kept in the United States by parole rules and not allowed to travel to Israel where his wife, whom he married after he was jailed, lived.
He remained subject to a curfew, had to wear a wrist monitor, and was prohibited from working for any company that lacked US government monitoring software on its computer systems.
Israel, where Pollard is regarded as a hero and which awarded him citizenship in 1995, repeatedly pressured Washington for his release, making it one of the top issues of bilateral relations.
But the US intelligence community was reportedly deeply opposed to giving him anything less than the sentence he received.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Espionage

Convicted US spy Jonathan Pollard arrives in Israel, capping decades-long affair

Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther in a private plane provided by American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Photo: AP

WAS01:MIDEAST-SUMMIT-POLLARD:WYE MILLS,MARYLAND,23OCT98 - FILE PHOTO 6APR86 - Jonathan Pollard is driven away from U.S. District Court in Washington, April 6, 1986, after pleading guilty to spying on the United States. A dispute over releasing Pollard, an American convicted of spying for Israel, held up plans for signing an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians October 23, an Israeli official said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thought he had an understanding that U.S. President Bill Clinton would pardon Pollard when Israel signs the agreement, Israeli sources said. "They (the Americans) informed him (Netanyahu) an hour ago that Pollard won't be released," a senior Israeli source added. (NO ARK, NO ONLINES, NO SALES, FOR ONE TIME USE ONLY) hb/Photo by Corbis-Bettmann REUTERS

Jonathan Pollard after his release in 2015. He arrived in Israel on Wednesday after Washington released him from parole conditions. File photo: AFP

‘I did it for the money’: the Chinese spy who gave up state secrets

An engineer was ordered to serve nine months in prison after he was found guilty of handing over state secrets. Photo: Shutterstock

Britain plans more to tackle China’s ‘covert activities’, says MI5 spy chief Ken McCallum

A view of skyscrapers and office buildings in London. The British government is working on a new National Security and Investment Bill. Photo: AFP

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum is photographed in London on Tuesday. Photo: UK government handout via Reuters

News

World

Middle East


Former US Navy analyst had long voiced desire to emigrate to Israel
The espionage affair strained US-Israel relations for decades



Jonathan Pollard arrived in Israel with his wife, culminating a decades-long affair that had long strained relations between the US and Israel.


Israel

United States

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Convicted US spy Jonathan Pollard arrives in Israel, capping decades-long affair

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Former US Navy analyst had long voiced desire to emigrate to Israel The espionage affair strained US-Israel relations for decades

Former US Navy analyst had long voiced desire to emigrate to Israel

The espionage affair strained US-Israel relations for decades