Jonathan Pollard

Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954) is a former United States Navy intelligence officer who was convicted of spying for Israel.

In 1985, Pollard's superiors at the Naval Anti-Terrorist Alert Center in Washington, D.C. grew suspicious of Pollard's behavior on the job. Stacks of classified documents unrelated to his work were repeatedly found in his office. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was soon called in to investigate, and they arrested Pollard in November of 1985. Any hopes of keeping the scandal under wraps were dashed when Pollard attempted to flee arrest by requesting asylum at the Israeli embassy. The Israeli embassy refused to grant Pollard and his wife asylum and Pollard was subsequently apprehended by the FBI.

Pollard pleaded guilty to espionage on June 4, 1986 and in 1987, Pollard was sentenced to life in prison, a sentence he is still serving. The Pollard affair caused considerable damage to the relationship between Israel and the United States. Pollard's wife, Anne, was sentenced to five years in prison.

He was awarded Israeli citizenship in 1998. As of 2005, he is still in prison, although the Israeli government has repeatedly asked for his release.

In 1998, Israel admitted in a statement from then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Pollard had been an Israeli spy. Israeli sources claimed that President Clinton promised to put Pollard on Netanyahu's plane, possibly to go to an Israeli jail, possibly to go free, but then reneged. Administration spokesmen countered that no such deal had been made.

In recent years, many have claimed that Pollard's punishment is too harsh, including Caspar Weinberger, who was a major force behind his original sentencing.

External links

• BBC article
• All about Jonathan Pollard
• John Loftus on Pollard
• Justice for Jonathan Pollard campaign for Pollard's release from prison.
• Jonathan Pollard was no Jewish patriot column by Eric Margolis.