American Jewish spy Jonathan Pollard landed in Israel last night (Wednesday), 35 years after he was arrested in the United States. Pollard immigrated to Israel with his wife Esther, after the restrictions that prevented him from coming to Israel were lifted last month.
The director of the “Young Israel” synagogue network, Rabbi Pesach Lerner, who has been close to Pollards for many years, said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post that the two scheduled their arrival between Esther’s cancer treatments so she could arrive on time for the next treatment Entered upon arrival in the country.
“Their goal has always been to get to Israel as soon as possible, as soon as they are allowed to,” Lerner said, arguing that if a political party tried to recruit Pollard ahead of the election, the answer would be no. ” He’s not going into politics, ” he said. ‘He was there, he did it. He wants to contribute to society in a different way and I am sure he will do that. “
The Pollards have a furnished apartment in Jerusalem, but Lerner did not reveal in which neighborhood. Esther had previously lived in the city before joining her husband in New York after his release from prison five years ago. “He will not live a boring life,” Lerner said. “There are things he wants to do. There will be a time after the corona that he will walk the streets, go to the Western Wall, do some shopping. He has plans.”
Jonathan and Esther Pollard (Photo: Committee for Pollard)Pollard’s lawyer, Adv. Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, said: “I am very excited about the arrival of Pollard and his wife in Israel. There was a great effort to keep the plan of their arrival from the American media and not to announce anything until they arrived in the country. I talked to them before they left and they are very excited after 35 years to come to Israel and start a new life. As required, the couple will immediately go into isolation. This is Pollard’s first sunrise in Jerusalem. We all pray that the pain and suffering of Pollard’s long years in prison will be behind him forever. “
As you may recall, last month Pollard’s lawyers stated that the US Department of Justice made it clear that in their opinion “it is unlikely that Pollard will break the law again, and therefore he may move anywhere he chooses, including Israel.” Pollard was convicted of spying for Israel and released under very restrictive conditions, which included a ban on leaving the United States, traffic restrictions in his area of residence in New York, a charge to wear an electronic GPS ankle bracelet at all times and, in addition, was subject to unlimited monitoring and testing of his computers.