Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard was released from prison on Friday after 30 years behind bars.
Greeted by his wife Ester, the couple were en route to Manhattan to enjoy their first Shabbat dinner together outside of a government facility, according to Pollard’s lawyer, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“The people of Israel welcome Jonathan Pollard’s release,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement released shortly after the news broke.
“May this Sabbath bring him much joy and peace that will continue in the years and decades ahead.”
Pollard was tried and convicted of spying against the US for Israeli intelligence in 1985 and served a 30-year prison sentence despite repeated attempts by Israeli prime ministers to convince US presidents to sign off on his release, YNet reported.
“Over the years, we’ve felt Pollard’s pain and felt responsibility and obligation to work for his release,” said President Reuven Rivlin.
Pollard was not set completely free, so he still has to check in regularly with a parole officer for a year and can be returned to prison for poor behavior. He is not permitted to leave the United States for five years, to give interviews or to go online, amid other conditions that are expected to be revealed Friday, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The official Free Pollard campaign and Pollard’s attorneys have declined to comment on the parole conditions, but they did encourage US congress menbers to ask the Justice Department to ease them. World renowned criminal lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who represented Pollard in the past, told The Jerusalem Post that although such parole conditions were not unprecedented, they are “totally irrational.”
Video: Pollard seen in Manhattan, Friday
The president did nothing to shorten Pollard’s sentence. There are hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with whom this did not sit well at all. Maybe someone can convince the president, before he leaves office, that pardoning Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin would reflect well on him with tens of thousands of citizens. What a sick travesty of justice the length of his sentence is. Why are the multi-millionaires who commit far worse white color crimes out enjoying the results of their shady deals while a kind-hearted, generous person like Sholom Mordechai is languishing in prison despite the fact that many famous… Read more »
Of what use can any information he has in his faded memory (if any) be used against the United States today in face of the fast moving world of technology and science we live in? Any such information is definitely outdated. There’s no reason to keep the man who’s served a sentence beyond any EVER meted out by the U.S. to a spy for an ally, further locked in place with an anklet GPS, and certainly no reason to deprive him of using the internet. That’s downright inane to say the least, and vengefully cruel. I’m sure they could keep… Read more »
he doesnt answer any of the questions. why dont they take the hint he want to be alone???
Baruch Hashem and may the release of Rabashkin be soon as well!
– MoshiachNow!!!!
Best news of the century. The day we all dreamed of.
חג הגאולה של יהונתן הלוי בן מלכה שיחי’
זה חג הגאולה של כלל ישראל,ימות המשיח קרבים
ובאים.ובעזרת השם בקרוב מאוד אצל שלום מרדכי
הלוי בן רבקה. עם ישראל תמשיכו להתפלל
זה יעזור.
why are they acting so mean and taking so much pictures of him
חג הגאולה של יהונתן הלוי בן מלכה שיחי’
זה חג הגאולה של כלל ישראל,ימות המשיח קרבים
ובאים.ובעזרת השם בקרוב מאוד אצל שלום מרדכי
הלוי בן רבקה. עם ישראל תמשיכו להתפלל
זה יעזור.
סיג לכחמה שתיקה
Hats off to his faithful wife. May the joy of the coming years outweigh the pain they suffered..
Nobody did him any favors, he served out his sentance in it’s entirety, he came out one day early because they don’t release on weekends. This is not Israel the JD has no mercy on Jews.
Wishing Mr. Pollard L’chaim on his release and may the years you served in prison not count!!
what i dont understan is why cant the reporters give him some time he just spent a harowing thirty years in prison let them leave him alone. let him taste freedom first before harassing him. just a little consideration
סיג לכחמה שתיקה
Boruch Mattir Assurim! May his geula protis lead to a Geula klolis!
should bring the gueula klalit od this galut NOW
BH!
shechiyanoo
B”h & especially in the month of Chodesh Hageula!
He should live till 120 with his wife to make up for lost time!!
So happy for you. Brave man and brave wife..may you have many happy years together.
C Simcha
what an aishes chayil his wife is! may they be blessed with very long happy healthy years together!!
B”H. But with such conditions and threats. They know that he was treated to gross injustice so they are still trying to vilify him. How petty and small this makes the us government look.
Keshem that you were release kach should all Bney Israel release from Galuth
i’m so happy
May he only see revealed goodness and health.
Now we need to get Sholom Mordechai out now now not in thirty years
Thank G-d for his release long overdue. May Hashem be with and watch over him and his family always.