Jonathan Pollard Is Freed After 30 Years in US Prison

Jonathan Pollard, whose spying for Israel led to a serious rift between the Israeli and U.S. governments and between U.S. and Israeli Jews, was released from prison Friday after serving 30 years of a life sentence.


But even freedom for the former civilian naval intelligence analyst did not put the continuing controversy over Pollard to rest, as his Israeli wife criticized the U.S. government for refusing to allow him to move to Israel -- where Pollard is seen as a hero -- for at least five years during his parole.A Justice Department official said parolees require special permission for foreign travel and must demonstrate “a substantial need for such travel.”

According to Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Eliot L. Engel, Pollard is willing to renounce his U.S. citizenship to facilitate his being sent to Israel. The two New York Democrats wrote a letter to Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch asking her to grant permission.

The White House has previously said President Obama has no plans to alter the terms of Pollard's parole.


PM Netanyahu's Statement on the Release of Jonathan Pollard


Jonathan Pollard has checked in at a federal probation office in New York following his release from a prison North Carolina.