After 30 years behind bars, Jonathan Pollard soon will be free. A federal parole panel voted unanimously this week to release him; the date was set for Nov. 20.
Convicted of spying for Israel in 1987, Pollard has endured a punishment that long ago outweighed the crime. At long last, in this case both justice and mercy shall be served.
We have editorialized on the Pollard affair often, always urging his release. The man spied for another country and deserved punishment, but it became clear over the years that politics and not justice was behind the extraordinary length of his prison time — individuals convicted of much worse crimes have served lighter sentences, while numerous calls for clemency for Pollard were ignored time and time again. His only formal application for parole was turned down last year.
Coinciding with the controversial Iranian nuclear deal, the timing of his parole’s announcement this week has not gone unnoticed.
Government officials insist the two had nothing to do with each other, and we certainly hope that is true. Nothing could be more cynical than engineering Pollard’s release as a consolation prize to Israel and American Jews alarmed over the Iran deal.
So come late November, 61-year-old Jonathan Pollard will leave prison. But his captivity will not end that day. It is Pollard’s wish to live out his life in Israel, which granted him citizenship in 1995.
According to the terms of his parole, however, aliyah is not an option.
Though Pollard’s lawyers asked President Obama for clemency, which would allow Pollard to leave the country, Justice Department officials have said no such clemency is forthcoming. Press accounts vary, but it seems Pollard will be forced to stay in the United States for at least five years.
Pollard may not have five years. His health has deteriorated markedly in prison.
The justice system has shown Pollard mercy by granting parole. Absent that, he would have had to serve another 15 years of his original life sentence. So why not show him true mercy and permit Pollard to move to the country of his choice, the land he loves? He has served his time. He needs no further punishment.
We rejoice at Pollard’s impending freedom, and fervently hope that freedom will be made whole by letting him live the rest of his life in Israel.