The people of Israel are rejoicing at the news that Prisoner of Zion Jonathan Pollard is now officially free to return home.
Pollard’s attorneys Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman announced on Friday that the United States Parole Commission has issued a certificate terminating parole and the restrictions that were imposed on him following his 2015 release from prison.
A such, Pollard “is free to travel anywhere, including Israel, for temporary or permanent residence, as he wishes.”
Pollard had been a US Naval intelligence analyst in the early 1980s when he discovered information that Syria, Iraq, Libya and Iran were developing weapons of mass destruction with the intention of attacking the State of Israel.
After notifying his superiors, Pollard discovered that elements within the US intelligence establishment were determined to withhold the information from Jerusalem, despite Israel being entitled to the intelligence according to a 1983 Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments.
According to high level officials at the time, President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush had been cynically violating the memorandum in order to make Jerusalem increasingly dependent on Washington in matters of national defense, so as to more easily advance US interests in the Semitic region.
Once aware of Washington’s betrayal, Pollard took it upon himself to warn Israel of the threat. Jerusalem took the necessary actions to neutralize the dangers but Prime Minister Shimon Peres ordered Pollard’s handlers to abandon him to the FBI in order to avoid a confrontation with the Reagan administration.
In an effort to prevent an embarrassing trial, both the Israeli and US governments urged Pollard to enter into a plea agreement. Although the usual maximum punishment for such an offense is roughly four years in prison and although he was promised a light sentence in exchange for his cooperation, Pollard was condemned to life behind bars, a punishment considered excessive for passing even highly sensitive information to a friendly country.
Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s first Likud government in 1996, as well as official recognition as an Israeli agent. As such, Israel pledged to cover his legal expenses while US officials often attempted to use Pollard as a bargaining chip to pressure Jerusalem.
During the 1998 Wye River Accords, President Bill Clinton offered Pollard’s release in exchange for Netanyahu signing away most of Hebron to Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority.
On the eve of the signing, Netanyahu was reported to have told Clinton: “I am agreeing to sign. Now it’s your turn to deliver and release Pollard.”
But Clinton reneged, claiming that CIA Director George Tenet had threatened to resign if Pollard would be released.
Clinton’s advisor Dennis Ross revealed in his 2005 book The Missing Peace that he had told the president to keep Pollard imprisoned to use as a bargaining chip for more significant Israeli concessions.
“Is it a big political issue in Israel and will it help Bibi [Netanyahu]?” Clinton asked Ross.
“Yes,” Ross replied, “because he is considered a soldier for Israel” and “there is an ethos in Israel that you never leave a soldier behind in the field. But if you want my advice, I would not release him now. It would be a huge payoff for Bibi; you don’t have many like this in your pocket. I would save it for permanent status. You will need it later; don’t use it now.”
In January 2006, Pollard was denied official “Prisoner of Zion” status by Israel’s Supreme Court, likely for fear of antagonizing the United States. But the whistle blower was finally paroled on November 20, 2015, following 30 years in prison. He was still barred from leaving New York for the next five years and his parole conditions required him to wear a GPS monitoring system and adhere to a 7pm to 7am curfew.
Friday’s announcement that Pollard will finally be free to return home to Israel has sent excitement through Israeli society. Among most Israelis, Pollard is considered a national hero, on par with Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin released a statement Saturday night, saying that “Over the years we have shared in Jonathan Pollard’s pain, and felt a responsibility and commitment to bring about his release. Now we will be able to welcome him and his family home, with the blessing ‘Blessed are You, who releases prisoners’ after many difficult years of imprisonment and restrictions, to a new life of health and peace.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s bureau said also released a statement, saying that “the prime minister has been committed to his release for many years and worked tirelessly for his return.”
“The prime minister thanked Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer for responsibly and sensitively leading the contacts with the administration. The prime minister hopes to see Jonathan Pollard in Israel soon, and together with all Israelis, extends his best wishes to him and his wife Esther.”
Pollard also expressed personal “appreciation and gratitude” to Dermer for his help in bringing about the end to his parole.
Member of Knesset Naftali Bennett (Yamina) welcomed the removal of the restrictions on Pollard, saying that “The State of Israel owes a deep debt to Jonathan Pollard who gave us over 30 years of his life, and we are waiting to welcome him and embrace him here, in the land of Israel which is his home, as soon as possible.”
“Waiting for you, Jonathan.”
The Judean town of Beit El issued an official invitation for Pollard to come live in the community. Beit El had years ago made the agent an “honorary resident” of the community and expressed hope that he would now come build his new life in the town.
“We were happy to hear on Saturday that Jonathan Pollard has been freed of all restrictions after so many years of waiting,” said Beit El municipality head Shai Alon.
“We intend to contact Jonathan and Esther Pollard as soon as possible and offer them to come and live with us as soon as they’re able to make aliya and choose to do so.”
“We have a large community of English speakers who will be happy to assist the Pollards in get acclimated with Israel and all the residents of the community will be happy and excited to be at their disposal in order to provide any help that may be required,” Alon continued.
“This is the least we can do to honor and appreciate a person who sacrificed so many years of his life out of a desire to help the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”
While we should feel genuine gratitude for Pollard’s freedom and look forward to his arrival, we shouldn’t lose site of the deep educational value of his story to our people. Jewish leaders in the US have for years shied away from working towards Pollard’s freedom for fear of accusations of dual loyalty in the United States.
The entire Pollard affair forces pro-Israel US Jews to confront their own cognitive dissonance and recognize the fundamental conflict between US and Jewish national interests.
Pollard should be viewed as having corrected the sin of Jews during the Holocaust. At that time, the US Jewish community was so desperate to be accepted into the American mainstream that they refused to fight for their brothers and sisters in Europe for fear it would call their loyalty to the US war effort into question. Pollard was faced with a similar dilemma and chose his people over Washington’s imperialist Middle East interests.
In many ways, Pollard has spent the the last 35 years as the only free Jew in the United States because he ventured to ask himself difficult questions and reached liberating conclusions. Honestly confronting his story might just be the key to psychologically freeing the broader US Jewish community.
Jonathan Pollard should be seen as the antithesis to AIPAC and all other Jews desperate to convince themselves that they can continue to live their lives in the United States while expressing loyalty to both nations because both will anyway forever be on the same team. In fact, it has been precisely this irresponsible illusion psychologically blocked many Jews from appreciating the historic significance of Israel’s national rebirth.
Once US Jews stop trying to prove their loyalty and the indistinguishability of Israeli and United States interests, they might be able to entertain the type of questions Pollard must have asked himself. They might finally see the fundamental conflict of interests between Washington and Jerusalem and begin to resent the fact that successive US administrations have spent decades controlling and limiting Israel’s economic, diplomatic and military independence.
These Diaspora Jews might also finally discover that they are part of a proud ancient people with an inspirational story and an incredible destiny that they could choose to become part of rather than attach their futures to an empire in decline.
