(New York Times) Peter Baker - Jonathan J. Pollard, the American convicted of passing classified documents to Israel, walked out of a federal prison in Butner, N.C., on Friday after 30 years, after receiving parole on a life sentence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the people of his nation "welcome the release," noting that he himself had "raised Jonathan's case for years" with several American presidents. The Obama administration had no plans to let Pollard move to Israel as he requested. However, Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "I don't know why we wouldn't approve that. He served his full term. I don't know what good it does except to keep the whole show going." The only American ever given a life sentence for spying for an ally, Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship during his imprisonment. Nahman Shai of the center-left Zionist Union, who heads a Knesset caucus that advocated Pollard's release, wrote, "We will not rest until you are free to depart the United States for any destination of your choosing, first and foremost Israel."
2015-11-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive