JERUSALEM (AP) – Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in US prison for spying for Israel, arrived in Israel on Wednesday with his wife, kissing the ground triumphantly as he left the aircraft, culminating in a decades-long affair strained relations between the two close allies.
“We are ecstatic to finally be home after 35 years,” said Pollard as he was met at Israeli international airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader happily presented Pollard and his wife Esther with Israeli identity cards, granting them citizenship.
“You are at home,” said Netanyahu, reciting a Hebrew blessing of thanks. “What moment. What moment. “
Pollard arrived on a private plane provided by American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire defender of Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.
Pollard, 66, and his wife slowly descended the steps as they exited the aircraft. Pollard knelt and kissed the floor while his wife put her hand on his back with Netanyahu standing in the darkness. Esther Pollard, who is battling cancer, then kissed the floor and was helped by her husband.
Pollard thanked Netanyahu and the Jewish people for supporting him. “We hope to become productive citizens as quickly and quickly as possible and continue with our lives here,” he said.
Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the United States Navy, sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon in the 1980s. He was arrested in 1985 after unsuccessfully trying to obtain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and pleaded guilty. The espionage case embarrassed Israel and tainted its relations with the United States for years.
Pollard was sentenced to life in prison and US defense and intelligence officials consistently argued against his release. But after serving 30 years in federal prison, he was released on November 20, 2015 and put on five-year probation that ended in November. This paved the way for him to leave the US
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 they said was a private plane that arrived on Wednesday morning from Newark, New Jersey. He said the private flight was necessary due to Esther Pollard’s medical needs. The newspaper’s editor, Boaz Bismuth, called it “the most exciting day” of his four-decade journalism career.
The photos of the plane with the Pollards matched the color scheme of the aircraft from Las Vegas Sands Corp., the hotel and casino company owned by Adelson. Flight tracking data showed that a company-owned Boeing 737, tail number N108MS, left Newark for Ben-Gurion International Airport, outside Tel Aviv.
Effi Lahav, head of an activist group that campaigned for Pollard’s release from prison, said Pollard was sent on an “top secret” mission overnight. “The fact that Esther and Jonathan arrived here in Israel excites us a lot,” he told the army radio station.
The Ynet website said the couple was quarantined, which is mandatory for all Israelis returning as a protective measure against the spread of the coronavirus. The country barred the arrival of all tourists, but it seemed to be welcoming the couple as Israeli.
Pollard’s release was the latest in a long list of diplomatic gifts given to Netanyahu by President Donald Trump. His arrival in Israel gives the battered Netanyahu a welcome boost as he fights for re-election in the March 23 parliamentary elections.
Netanyahu has been one of Trump’s closest allies on the international stage. For the past four years, Trump has recognized contested Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and has moved the U.S. embassy to the holy city. In other exits from traditional U.S. positions, Trump also acknowledged Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, said Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not illegal and brokered a series of diplomatic agreements between Israel and Arab nations.