The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) on Wednesday wished Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther happiness, health and success following their arrival in Israel to begin their new life there.
The NCYI was deeply involved in the effort to free Pollard for many years and was the only Jewish organization that Pollard specifically thanked publicly upon hearing of his release from prison.
“It is truly a remarkable and historic day for Jonathan and Esther Pollard, who were finally able to travel to Israel together to begin the next chapter of their lives in the Jewish state. The Pollards endured a long and difficult journey, and their arrival in Israel is the culmination of a decades-long effort to secure Jonathan’s freedom after excessive parole conditions and a disproportionate prison sentence that was objected to in a bipartisan fashion by governmental leaders and experts in the legal and intelligence fields,” the NCYI said in a statement.
“After a tremendous injustice that resulted in Jonathan Pollard being incarcerated for thirty years, it is truly a blessing that he was able to move to Israel and settle in the Jewish homeland. We wish Jonathan and Esther much happiness, health and success in their new home,” it added.
Pollard’s arrival in Israel comes a month after the US Parole Commission issued a certificate terminating parole and the restrictions that were imposed on him, making him free to travel anywhere, including Israel.
When Pollard was released from prison in 2015 after serving 30 years of his life sentence for transmitting classified information to Israel, his parole commission imposed strict parole guidelines for a period of five years.
As part of those restrictions, Pollard was not allowed to leave his home between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., was monitored by a GPS device and was not permitted to leave the US. That five-year period ended in November.