Watch: Jonathan Pollard visits Cave of the Patriarchs

Arutz Sheva - March 31, 2021

Ex-spy visits one of Judaism's holiest sites for Passover holiday, one of the few days the entire site is open to Jews.

Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron Wednesday during the Passover holiday and later toured the city of the patriarchs.

During his visit, Pollard recited the 'Hagomel' blessing, which is recited by Jews who have been saved from captivity or life-threatening situations.

The hall of Isaac and Rebecca, which is closed to Jews throughout most of the year, opened for Chol Hamoed to allow Jews to visit during Passover.

Thousands of Jews have already arrived in the area since Tuesday, and Israel Police has increased its presence and set up traffic arrangements for the arrivals.

Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council Head Eliyahu Libman emphasized that the Jewish nation's roots are in the Cave of the Patriarchs: "After a difficult year during which the Cave was closed for long stretches of time, today we saw thousands of Israelis arriving at the site, and there's nothing that warms your heart more than such sights."

"I invite all of you to the place from which the Jewish nation grew, to the graves of our forefathers and foremothers," he said. "Come to the Cave of the Patriarchs, come to Kiryat Arba-Hebron. There's room for everyone."

Jonathan Pollard served 30 years of a life sentence in an American prison for spying for Israel, an unusually harsh sentence for the crime of spying for an allied country. He was released on parole in 2015 under extremely restrictive conditions. Last year, the US Parole Commission issued a certificate terminating parole and the restrictions that were imposed on him. As a result, Pollard was finally free to come to Israel.

View original article with video.