Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, who is in Washington, reportedly issued a call last week to pardon Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence for spying for Israel.
According to a report in the leftist newspaper Haaretz, Rubinstein said Israelis were responsible for most of the errors made in the affair, but also accused Americans for some of the mistakes.
The Haaretz report alleged that the judge's remarks may constitute an infraction of the ethical guidelines for judges.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked President Barack Obama at their meeting last week that the White House consider the release of Jonathan Pollard from prison.
"I raised the issue of Pollard in the conversation with President Obama and transmitted a simple message," Netanyahu told a press briefing in New York. "I told the president that we are in Yom Kippur – a time of reciting selichot (forgiveness -- ed.) prayers and giving forgiveness. I pointed out to the president that I hope that this can be the basis that will make it possible to release Jonathan Pollard."
Pollard was imprisoned in 1985. His expected release date is November 21, 2015, exactly 30 years later. He suffered serious health problems during his imprisonment and was hospitalized several times. Despite repeated requests from Israeli and former American officials for early release, the United States made it clear on several occasions that it has no intention of doing so.