JPost Editorial: Bring Pollard to Israel
Pollard is expected to be welcomed by his wife, Esther, and his attorney,
Eliot Lauer. They – and Pollard himself – have said that it is his dream to
make aliya.
The Jerusalem Post 11/19/2015 21:48
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/JPost-Editorial-Bring-Pollard-to-Israel-434723

In July, the US Parole Commission, in a unanimous 3-0 decision, decided to
grant Jonathan Pollard parole and announced that he would be released on
November 20, 2015.

Today, after spending 30 years in prison for a crime that did not deserve
such a harsh punishment, the 61-year-old Pollard will leave the federal
prison in Butner, North Carolina, and take the first delicate steps toward
continuing with his life. He will at last be able to celebrate this coming
Shabbat outside prison walls.

Pollard is expected to be welcomed by his wife, Esther, and his attorney,
Eliot Lauer. They – and Pollard himself – have said that it is his dream to
make aliya.

“I am looking forward to being reunited with my beloved wife Esther,”
Pollard has said via his attorneys. “I would like to thank the many
thousands of well-wishers in the United States, in Israel, and throughout
the world, who provided grassroots support by attending rallies, sending
letters, making phone calls to elected officials, and saying prayers for my
welfare. I am deeply appreciative of every gesture, large or small.”

Pollard is the only American citizen sentenced to life in prison for passing
classified information to a US ally – in this case Israel. He has been
behind bars since his arrest in 1985, even though he was convicted two years
later. After finally giving him official recognition as an agent, Israel
granted him citizenship 20 years ago, on November 22, 1995.

Pollard’s parole restrictions require him to remain in the US under some
harsh restrictions for the next five years, although the parole board has
the discretion to lift these at any time. Under the terms of his release,
Pollard will be restricted to the residential area of New York for three
years, cannot give media interviews and must report to a probation officer
for at least a year.

Whatever the reasons for his three-decade incarceration, the campaign to
free Pollard has scored an important victory with his release today. But the
struggle is not completely over – it has just switched gears.

Now that Pollard is on his way to becoming a free man, the next objective is
to fly him home to Israel. Pollard’s legal team has urged US President
Barack Obama to give him the green light to come to Israel after his release
from prison.

A number of prominent pro-Pollard activists have already begun working to
bring him to Israel. On Monday, two Jewish congressmen from New York – Reps.
Eliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler, both Democrats – wrote to US Attorney-
General Loretta Lynch, saying Pollard is ready to give up his US citizenship
so that he would be allowed to travel immediately to Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly urged Obama to allow
Pollard to come to Israel, and brought up the issue with Obama during his
visit to Washington last week.

Netanyahu has, meanwhile, instructed Israeli officials to keep low-key about
Pollard’s release, according to Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister
Naftali Bennett. Asked by Army Radio if ministers had received instructions
from the prime minister regarding Pollard’s release, Bennett said: “We were
asked not to speak expansively.”

“The people of Israel embrace him,” Bennett said. “Pollard was an emissary
of the State of Israel for good and bad.

He did not do it for himself but for the people of Israel. And we are happy
he will finally be released.”

The heads of the official Free Pollard campaign released a statement calling
on the public to send letters of encouragement to letters4pollard@gmail.com.
The letters, which can include pictures of pro-Pollard activities around the
world, will be printed out for him so he can see them.

“You can directly send a hug that will help him and his wife Esther deal
with the challenges ahead that will not be simple,” a campaign spokesman
told The Jerusalem Post’s political correspondent Gil Hoffman. “Send
anything that is in your heart. Tell him about your prayers and yours
efforts [for him] over the years.”

We second that call. Pollard has served his sentence. He has paid his debt
to American society and then some. It is time for him to come home – to
Israel.