Convicted US spy Pollard gets warm welcome in Israel

JERUSALEM—Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in U.S. prison for spying for Israel, arrived in Israel early Wednesday with his wife, triumphantly kissing the ground as he disembarked from the aircraft in the culmination of a decades long affair that had long strained relations between the allies.

“We are ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years,” Pollard said as he was greeted at Israel’s international airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader presented Pollard and his wife, Esther, with Israeli ID cards, granting them citizenship.

“You’ re home ,” Net anyahu said, reciting a Hebrew blessing of thanks.

Pollard arrived on a private plane provided by American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire supporter of both Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.

Pollard, 66, and his wife walked slowly down the steps as they exited from the aircraft. Pollard got on his knees and kissed the ground as his wife put her hand on his back with Netanyahu standing by in the darkness. Esther Pollard, who is battling cancer, then kissed the ground and was helped up by her husband.

Pollard thanked Netanyahu and the Jewish people for supporting him.

“We hope to become productive citizens as soon and as quickly as possible and to get on with our lives here,” he said.

Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon in the 1980s. He was arrested in 1985 after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and pleaded guilty. The espionage affair embarrassed Israel and tarnished its relations with the United States for years.

Despite the damage he caused to relations with the U.S. over the years, Pollard was warmly embraced by Israel’s nationalist politicians. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin welcomed him in a tweet, and lawmakers from Netanyahu’s Likud party and its allies tweeted congratulations and greetings to the Pollards, who left from the airport for an undisclosed location.

“”There is no Israeli who didn’t feel excited this morning to see Pollard’s landing in Israel and the moment he kissed the country’s earth, which he had dreamed of for 35 years,” Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev, a close ally of Netanyahu, wrote on Twitter.

Pollard was given a life sentence, and U.S. defense and intelligence officials consistently argued against his release. But after serving 30 years in federal prison, he was released in 2015, and placed on a five-year parole period that ended in November. That cleared the way for him to leave the U.S.

Pollard’s arrival was first reported by Israel Hayom, a newspaper owned by Adelson. The newspaper published photos of Pollard and his wife, both wearing masks, on what it said was a private plane that arrived early Wednesday from Newark, New Jersey.

It said the private flight was necessary due to the medical needs of Esther Pollard.

The Ynet website said the couple was in quarantine, which is mandatory for all returning Israelis to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

ISRAELHAYOM Jonathan Pollard, left, an American jailed in the U.S. for spying for Israel, and his wife, Esther, on a private jet provided by American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.