Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan PollardFile

Incarcerated Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard was temporarily taken out of his North Carolina prison on Tuesday to undergo an urgent surgical procedure needed because of severe lung problems.

Last week, Pollard asked visiting ambassador Michael Oren Tuesday to plead his case before US President Barack Obama "before it's too late."
 
Oren became the first representative of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to visit Pollard in his prison cell since his term began. The visit was nearly canceled due to Pollard's poor health.
 
Pollard and his wife Esther explained to Oren the problems with his health, the extreme pain he is enduring, and the urgency for him to heal as a free man.
 
"I don't know how much longer he will manage to keep going," Esther Pollard said. 
 
"Jonathan was supposed to have an urgent operation, but the administration of the prison canceled it due to the visit. He was really disappointed by this timing conflict because he remains in terrible pain and in need of an urgent operation."