Jonathan Pollard (Photo: AP)
Posted on 11/19/2015 4:50:42 PM PST by Nachum
Convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard is to be released from US prison on Friday after serving 30 years.
Attempts to get Pollard freed over the years have failed, as have requests to ease the terms of his release. He is to be released by the federal parole board but remain under strict conditions. Among other things, Pollard will be banned from flying to Israel and forbidden from accessing the internet.
Pollard, 61, will also have to live and work in New York and regularly report to a parole officer. Any request to leave the area where
he lives would require approval from the parole officer, with more substantial requests requiring special approval from the parole board.
Pollard spent the first seven years after his arrest in an Illinois jail before being transferred to a North Carolina prison. Prisoners are released daily from the facility at 6am (1pm Israel time), and Pollard is expected to be released in the early morning. However, authorities refused to provide information regarding the precise time of his release.
The first people Pollard is expected to meet after his release are his wife Esther and his lawyer, who will likely meet him North Carolina, where the prison is, or in New York, where is supposed to live as part of his parole conditions.
Pollard's attorneys plan to keep a low profile because of concern that a media circus would taint efforts to convince the parole board to shorten the length of time he must abide by the strict conditions – and perhaps to permit him to leave the US and come to Israel.
"Esther is so excited I can't describe it," said a source closed to the Pollards. "This will be the first time in 30 years that Jonathan can sit at the Sabbath meal table and say Kiddush over the wine. She prepared dishes he hasn't seen since he was 30."
Pollard's former wife Anne also arrived in the US in the hopes of seeing him. Anne was arrested with Jonathan in November 1985 at the entrance to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, where they hoped in vain to find asylum.
Pollard confessed to passing classified information to a friendly nation as part of a plea bargain, but the judge rejected it and sentenced him to a life sentence, the maximum allowed.
It was reported Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked the US to allow Pollard to return immediately to Israel upon his release.
According to the reports, Netanyahu has been lobbying Washington to let Pollard travel to Israel instead of completing his five years' parole in the United States. A spokesman for Netanyahu would not confirm the report.
He got a much harsher sentence than many who spy for China or Russia (which are not “friendly” countries).
There has been lots of speculation as to why...
Didn't know that. Well, our FR Putinistas would have no problem with that.
Pardon my ignorance but in 1985 I was 8 years old so I have no clue who this guy is or what he was convicted of. Thanks for the ping though. I’ll try to educate myself
I agree with doing more research no doubt about it and I’m doing that now. But what I find interesting is Hillary too held onto classified material knowingly in an unsecure location on and unsecure server and what has been turned over highly sensitive and top secret material found. This doesn’t include the 30k + attempting to be recovered (coverup of treasonous acts). Thank you though for getting me more interested in researching this guy. Will do that now
I see what you mean...
“Pollard admitted shopping his services, successfully, in some cases, to other countries.[14]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Pollard
Bill Clinton, as a US president, sold and gave away critical secrets to the ChiComs during ChinaGate and never spent a day in prison.
Oh wow. This is far worse than I imagined. What he did share was a holy grail of information during its time. Wow I’m shocked I had no knowledge of this
Thanks
He should have been executed by a firing squad.
Interesting related FR thread from 2001...
Why Pollard Should Never Be Released (The Traitor)
The New Yorker Magazine
January 18, 1999, pp. 26-33
SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Posted on 11/22/2001 by blackbag
The Case Against Johnathon Pollard
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/576453/posts
The same could be said for most of our politicians.
Jonathan Pollard and all traitors like him should be publically hung!
And I agree. Since he won’t be hung use him as a weapon against America’s communists.
Not his call to make. He betrayed his country and OUR country and should rot to death in prison for it, if they're so dead-set on not hanging him.
Just passage of time. Under the sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of his conviction he was eligible for parole after 30 years.
I think they could have found a way to keep him there if they wanted to. They have no regard for the law anyway.
Article, then # 25 , # 30 , for critical information.
.
Pollard was a US citizen. Was he also a citizen of Israel?
I think they could have found a way to keep him there if they wanted to. They have no regard for the law anyway.
Sounds like the Democrats need some JEWISH MONEY. I guess this is supposed to make up for giving Iran nukes (or at least the ability to make them).
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