The country has barred the arrival of all tourists, but appeared to be welcoming the couple as Israelis. The Ynet website said the couple was in quarantine, which is mandatory for all returning Israelis as a measure to guard against the spread of the coronavirus. He called Pollard's arrival "very moving and very historic" and a moment that his organization "waited for, wished for and prayed for and acted for throughout all these years." the United States," Lahav told The Associated Press. "We have no interest in defying anyone, for sure not. Flight-tracking data showed a Boeing 737 owned by the company, tail number N108MS, left Newark for Ben-Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv.Įffi Lahav, head of an activist group that had campaigned for Pollard's release from prison, said Pollard's "arrival was (kept) secret since we realized it's better to be discreet regarding his arrival." Photographs of the plane with the Pollards matched the color scheme of aircraft owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the hotel and casino company owned by Adelson. The newspaper's editor, Boaz Bismuth, called it "the most exciting day" of his four-decade journalism career. It said the private flight was necessary due to the medical needs of Esther Pollard. 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. Pollard's arrival was first reported by Israel Hayom, a newspaper owned by Adelson. That cleared the way for him to leave the U.S. 20, 2015, and placed on a five-year parole period that ended in November.
But after serving 30 years in federal prison, he was released on Nov. defense and intelligence officials consistently argued against his release. Pollard was given a life sentence and U.S. "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. 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. over the years, Pollard was warmly embraced by Israel's nationalist politicians. "Soft reasons, having to do with a family that was destroyed in the Holocaust, having to do with the realization that this government in the '40s had abandoned the Jewish people to its fate in Europe." There was also a "hard reason," he said: He believed Caspar Weinberger, then secretary of defense, was neglecting his obligation to Israel.ĭespite the damage he caused to relations with the U.S. "I can give you a number of soft reasons why I was motivated to do what I did," he said. Pollard told Wallace he knew he broke the law, but his motives were pure, rooted in his Jewish faith and allegiance to Israel. In a 60 Minutes interview from 1988 (in the video player above), Mike Wallace interviewed the Pollards, then behind bars, along with defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz and prosecutor Joseph diGenova. The espionage affair embarrassed Israel and tarnished its relations with the United States for years. He was arrested in 1985 after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and pleaded guilty.
Navy, sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon in the 1980s. Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. "We hope to become productive citizens as soon and as quickly as possible and to get on with our lives here," he said. Pollard thanked Netanyahu and the Jewish people for supporting him. Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison for spying for Israel, and his wife Esther, pose for a picture aboard a private plane flying to Israel on Dec. Esther Pollard, who is battling cancer, then kissed the ground and was helped up by her husband. 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. Pollard, 66, and his wife walked slowly down the steps as they exited from the aircraft.
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