The Hill :
Jonathan Pollard was released from prison after 30 years on Friday, but the drama isn’t over for the convicted Israeli spy.
The 61-year-old former intelligence officer walked free from a federal prison in Butner, N.C., but he will be forced to remain in the United States for an additional five years – against his own wishes as well as
those of prominent Democrats and the Israeli government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly lobbying the Obama administration to ease up the terms of Pollard’s parole and let him move to Israel immediately. Yet the White House is refusing to step in, ensuring that the ex-spy’s status remains in flux and continues to be a point of tension between the U.S. and Israel.
“The president has no intention of altering the terms of his parole,” a senior administration official reiterated on Thursday. “He’s made clear that he wants there to be fair treatment under the law, as there should be with any individual,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters earlier in the month, before Netanyahu came to Washington.
The issue would likely have come up in the bilateral meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, Rhodes acknowledged. “He respects how important this issue is to many Israelis,” Rhodes said.
Pollard, a former intelligence analyst for the Navy, was arrested in 1985 and convicted in 1987 of passing top-secret American documents to Israel. He is the only American ever to have been given a life sentence for spying on behalf of a U.S. ally.
His decades of imprisonment since then has been a constant source of friction for the U.S. and Israel, which has repeatedly indicated that it wants Washington to set Pollard free. Last year, there was a stutter-step in Pollard’s case, when his freedom was considered as a possible bargaining chip as part of an effort to spark Middle East peace talks. Those discussions ultimately fell flat.
Pollard has now been freed following a decision by the U.S. Parole Commission in July. Some analysts have speculated that his release is part of an effort to bridge the deep divide that emerged between the U.S. and Israel following the Obama administration’s negotiation of a nuclear deal with Iran, though the White House has rejected that notion.
Pollard became an Israeli citizen in 1995, and he has expressed a desire to return to that country, where some treat him like a national hero. Netanyahu has reportedly warned Israeli officials not to appear too jubilant about Pollard’s freedom, on the eve of Friday’s release.
Jonathan Pollard was released from prison after 30 years on Friday, but the drama isn’t over for the convicted Israeli spy.
The 61-year-old former intelligence officer walked free from a federal prison in Butner, N.C., but he will be forced to remain in the United States for an additional five years – against his own wishes as well as
those of prominent Democrats and the Israeli government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly lobbying the Obama administration to ease up the terms of Pollard’s parole and let him move to Israel immediately. Yet the White House is refusing to step in, ensuring that the ex-spy’s status remains in flux and continues to be a point of tension between the U.S. and Israel.
“The president has no intention of altering the terms of his parole,” a senior administration official reiterated on Thursday. “He’s made clear that he wants there to be fair treatment under the law, as there should be with any individual,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters earlier in the month, before Netanyahu came to Washington.
The issue would likely have come up in the bilateral meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, Rhodes acknowledged. “He respects how important this issue is to many Israelis,” Rhodes said.
Pollard, a former intelligence analyst for the Navy, was arrested in 1985 and convicted in 1987 of passing top-secret American documents to Israel. He is the only American ever to have been given a life sentence for spying on behalf of a U.S. ally.
His decades of imprisonment since then has been a constant source of friction for the U.S. and Israel, which has repeatedly indicated that it wants Washington to set Pollard free. Last year, there was a stutter-step in Pollard’s case, when his freedom was considered as a possible bargaining chip as part of an effort to spark Middle East peace talks. Those discussions ultimately fell flat.
Pollard has now been freed following a decision by the U.S. Parole Commission in July. Some analysts have speculated that his release is part of an effort to bridge the deep divide that emerged between the U.S. and Israel following the Obama administration’s negotiation of a nuclear deal with Iran, though the White House has rejected that notion.
Pollard became an Israeli citizen in 1995, and he has expressed a desire to return to that country, where some treat him like a national hero. Netanyahu has reportedly warned Israeli officials not to appear too jubilant about Pollard’s freedom, on the eve of Friday’s release.
