Not long after winning a big upset in September in a special election for Congress, Bob Turner flew hundreds of miles away from his New York City district to a federal prison in North Carolina. There, Mr. Turner walked past the guards, through the metal detectors and gates and into a visiting room, where he met Prisoner No. 09185-016 — also known as Jonathan Pollard. To many Americans, Mr. Pollard is a dreadful character, having pleaded guilty in 1986 to spying on behalf of the Israeli government. But back in Mr. Turner’s heavily Jewish district, his life sentence has become...