Jewish American spy Jonathan Pollard was released from a US prison on Friday after serving nearly 30 years for passing American secrets to Israel, in a move welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The decades-long punishment has been deemed disproportionate by the Jewish state, where Pollard is seen by some as a national hero.
Netanyahu, who has long pressed for Pollard’s release, said today that “after three long and difficult decades Jonathan is at last reunited with his family.” “The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard,” he said. The Pollard case has been a major bone of contention between Israel and the United States, with successive US presidents beginning with Ronald Reagan through Barack Obama refusing Pollard’s early release.