On Friday, Jonathan Pollard, 61, is scheduled to be released from a federal prison in North Carolina and will likely head north to live in New York. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, was arrested in 1985 for passing classified secrets to Israel and sentenced in 1987 to life in prison. Under the terms of his parole, he will not be able to leave the U.S. for at least five years without permission, and will be monitored. A supporter, Rabbi Peach Lener, said on a radio program earlier in November that Pollard will have to wear a GPS tracker and stay off the internet.
Pollard is viewed as a hero by many Israelis, and successive Israeli leaders have sought his release, only to be told no by successive U.S. presidents. Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Obama about letting Pollard move to Israel, where his wife lives, but Obama declined to step in, according to Israeli media and U.S. officials. The White House also did not object to Pollard getting parole. Two Democratic lawmakers from New York also asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to let Pollard renounce his U.S. citizenship and move to Israel, where he was granted citizenship in prison, and never return. The Justice Department is not considering that request. The intelligence community is strongly opposed to giving Pollard any lenient treatment.
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