Jonathan Pollard Freed after 30 Years in Jail
The US has released former navy analyst Jonathan Pollard, who was jailed for life in 1987 for passing classified information to Israel.
Jonathan Pollard, 61, was freed from a feeral prison in North Carolina on November 20, ending one of the longest-running and most contentious issues between the US and Israel.
His parole conditions require him to remain in the US for five years.
Repeated Israeli appeals over the years for the US to show clemency towards Jonathan Pollard were rejected.
Jonathan Pollard traveled to a federal courthouse in New York on the day of release to challenge the conditions of his parole.
He must wear a GPS ankle bracelet and submit to inspections of his home and work. His legal team calls the terms “onerous and oppressive'”.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli people welcomed his release.
The prime minister’s spokesperson tweeted: “As someone who has raised Jonathan Pollard’s case for many years with US presidents, I have wished for this day.
“After 30 long and hard years, Jonathan Pollard is finally reuniting with his family.”
Jonathan Pollard passed secret information to Israel for a year in return for payments until his arrest in 1985. He said he had been frustrated by the US withholding key intelligence from its staunch ally.
After he was questioned by the FBI, Jonathan Pollard and his then-wife, Anne, sought asylum at the Israeli embassy in Washington but were turned away.
Israel initially denied Jonathan Pollard had spied for them, insisting he had worked with “rogue” officials.
In 1995, Israel granted Jonathan Pollard citizenship, and two years later, they admitted he was their agent.
Supporters of Jonathan Pollard in Israel and the US campaigned for his release, arguing that his sentence was unjust.
The US reportedly considered freeing Jonathan Pollard in 2014 in return for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians during faltering peace talks, before negotiations collapsed.
In an interview with the Associated Press in 1998, Jonathan Pollard said the price he had paid for spying had not been worth it.
“There is nothing good that came as a result of my actions,” he said.
“I tried to serve two countries at the same time. That does not work.”