Jonathan Pollard: Former Jewish spy lands in Israel 35 years after arrest

EINSTEIN112

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Oct 26, 2018
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Pollard, a former intelligence analyst for the US, was detained in 1985 for spying for and providing top-secret intelligence to Israel, serving 30 years of a life sentence before he was paroled in 2015. He is the only American in US history to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally, as well as being the only one to serve more than 10 years in prison for the crime.

Under his parole restrictions, Pollard was subjected to wearing a GPS wrist monitoring device that constantly tracked his location, keeping a curfew that prevented him from leaving his home between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., and having his computers monitored. He was not permitted to leave New York, let alone the country.

Parole conditions lasting five years are considered standard, but the restrictions were especially strict.

Upon learning of Pollard's release last month, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, who was the first cabinet minister to visit Pollard in prison 23 years ago, said he was overjoyed by the news.

“Israel is waiting for Pollard,” he said. “This is happy news after the state abandoned him for too many long years. Soon we will be able to see Jonathan in Israel.”

Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog told The Jerusalem Post last month that the agency was ready to facilitate the Pollards’ aliyah when they were ready.

Pollard, who is Jewish, was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995 while still incarcerated in the U.S. His lawyer, Eliot Lauer, told The Times of Israel that Pollard arriving in Israel "speaks for itself. A dream realized after 35 very difficult years."

Pollard was arrested in 1985 and charged with espionage for Israel. He later pleaded guilty, but was still sentenced to life in prison. At the time, he claimed that he only stole secrets for a U.S. ally because "the American intelligence establishment collectively endangered Israel's security by withholding crucial information."

Prosecutors said while serving as a Navy analyst in the mid-1980s and handling classified material, Pollard made contact with an Israeli intelligence agent in New York and began funneling suitcases full of U.S. secrets to Israel in exchange for gifts and tens of thousands of dollars.

The intelligence handed to Israel included top-secret satellite photos and information about Soviet weaponry and Soviet support of Arab countries, according to a now-declassified "damage assessment" by U.S. intelligence.

The discovery of Pollard's spying severely strained U.S.-Israeli relations.

Although Israeli activists had repeatedly lobbied for a reduction in his sentence, U.S. officials, citing the damage they said Pollard did to American intelligence gathering, strongly objected.

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Kazi za ushushushu bwana, USA na Israel ni marafiki, lakini bado wanafanyiana figisu, sijui ili wapate nini?
Nchi ya mabongo lala naona ndio imejaza mashushushu wa kila nchi.
Wanyarwanda wamejioenyeza sekta zote nyeti
 
Kazi za ushushushu bwana, USA na Israel ni marafiki, lakini bado wanafanyiana figisu, sijui ili wapate nini?
Nchi ya mabongo lala naona ndio imejaza mashushushu wa kila nchi.
Wanyarwanda wamejioenyeza sekta zote nyeti
wanatafuta fusa kwa ajili ya nchi zao na ukileta figisu wanakuondoa duniani
 
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