Officials: Trump 'seriously considering' letting Pollard move to Israel

Gil Hoffman - The Jerusalem Post - April 29, 2018

Pollard was paroled from prison in November 1985, after serving 30 years of a life sentence for spying for an ally. Former spy says "I just want to go home.'

US President Donald Trump is "seriously considering" changing the parole conditions of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, in order to allow him to come to Israel, American and Israeli officials at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York said Sunday.

Pollard was paroled from prison in November 1985, after serving 30 years of a life sentence for spying for an ally. But his parole conditions prevent him from leaving the state of New York and moving to Israel.

In a recent conversation with a visitor to New York, Pollard revealed that he and his wife Esther were suffering from poor health and had been through significant medical challenges over the past year.

Asked if he had hope the Trump administration would commute his sentence and allow him to go to Israel, he told the visitor he met on the street: "I am praying for a miracle. I just want to come home."

Intelligence Services Minister Israel Katz said allowing Pollard to come to Israel would be another welcome gesture by the Trump administration when the US embassy moves to Jerusalem.

"In order to make the celebration even happier, I would like to ask our great friend President Trump, to give the Israeli public one more present, and to allow Jonathan Pollard to come to Israel, and celebrate with us in Jerusalem," Katz said.

Asked on the sidelines of the conference whether the Trump administration would accept his request, Katz told reporters that there was such a possibility.

Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai, who heads the Knesset's Free Pollard Caucus, said he hoped the reports were not "too good to be true."

"It is time to end the episode," he said.

View original article.