TEL AVIV – A former US Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison for spying for Israel arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, kissing the floor when he was greeted with a prayer by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As a civil intelligence analyst, Jonathan Pollard, 66, sold military secrets to Israel in the 1980s. He was arrested in 1985 after unsuccessfully trying to obtain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and pleaded guilty.
He was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment, but was released on parole in 2015.
The espionage case involving Pollard has become a point of conflict for decades between the U.S. and its ally, Israel, but a decision by the U.S. Justice Department last month not to renew Pollard’s five-year parole travel ban was seen by some as a farewell gift to Netanyahu by President Donald Trump. This could give the Israeli leader a welcome boost as he fights for re-election in next year’s parliamentary elections.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu met Pollard and his wife Esther on the runway when they landed in Tel Aviv, said the prime minister’s office.
The couple kissed the floor when they left the plane.
“We are ecstatic to finally be home after 35 years,” said Pollard, quoted by Netanyahu’s office as he was greeted by the prime minister.
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After saying a Hebrew prayer of thanks, Netanyahu presented Pollard with an Israeli identity card and said to him and his wife: “Now you can start a new life, with freedom and happiness. Now you’re home, ”said Netanyahu’s office in a statement.
“We hope to become productive citizens as quickly and quickly as possible and continue with our lives here,” said Pollard, according to the statement.
After Pollard arrived, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and several lawmakers tweeted congratulations and greetings to the Pollards, who left the airport for an undisclosed location.
Effi Lahav, head of an activist group that campaigned for Pollard’s release from prison, told the Associated Press that “Pollard’s arrival was (kept) secret, as we realized it was better to be discreet about his arrival”.
“We have no interest in challenging anyone, certainly not … the United States,” said Lahav.
He called Pollard’s arrival “very moving and very historic” and a moment that his organization “waited, desired, prayed and acted on all these years”.
Paul Goldman reported from Tel Aviv, Yuliya Talmazan from London.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
