In a moving event that took place this weekend with the participation of 500 municipal leaders in Samaria, the certificate of honorary citizenship in Samaria was awarded to Jonathan Pollard.
The certificate was presented by the head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, to Pollard and his late wife Esther, who passed away about two months ago.
Pollard was moved by the gesture and said: "In addition to my ID, my passport, this is the most important thing I have. It only took me 37 years to get it."
Pollard spoke about the special character of his wife Esther and her love for the Land of Israel. Pollard noted that before the Disengagement from Gush Katif, Esther came to visit him wearing two orange shirts, one for her and one for him.
Pollard further described that Esther was particularly attached to Kfar Darom and she told him that if he was released before the Disengagement was carried out, they would travel together for a march in Gush Katif. He said that when he asked her what would happen if they did not let them in, Esther told him, "Then we will go to Homesh."
"After she died, I told someone that she is now part of the country, part of the Negev, part of the Galilee, part of the center and most importantly she is part of Samaria. She is here with us," he said.
Pollard later spoke of the pressures of previous governments against him to agree to a terrorist release deal so that he could be released from prison. but without the ability to immigrate to Israel.
"When Esther called me to ask me if I would agree to this I replied that the short answer is 'no' and the long answer is 'G-d no.' If we agree to this deal we are underwriting the deaths of the victims and other terrorists will believe they can murder and be set free in a deal, and we will cause great pain for the [victims] families," Pollard said.
"Esther told me that if I committed this offense I would repeat the same mistake the spies made in the desert. We live for three things: the people of Israel, the Land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel. Everything we do in this life is preparation for the next world, and Esther said that is the answer Jewish to this question.
Dagan said before issuing the citizenship certificate: "Esther and Jonathan Pollard are heroes of Israel, full partners of the settlement movement in Samaria, Jonathan gave his whole life for the Jews in the Land of Israel, and the late Esther dedicated her life to the release of Jonathan Pollard. Both worked together for the State of Israel and its security, and for the lives of millions of Jews."
"Esther and Jonathan were dedicated to the settlements in Judea and Samaria and loved the settlers of Samaria even from afar in the United States, and even when they came to visit here, knew everything that was going on. There is hardly a day that Jonathan does not send me comments or advice or ideas on how to be more successful in our mission of the building of Samaria, how to build more, how to protect the lands of the state, how to preserve Homesh.
The chairman of the Samaria Regional Council described that "even after Esther's funeral when we traveled together to the house where he sat shiva, the important thing for him was to talk about Homesh and Samaria, Esther was dedicated to the people of Samaria every day and every night, one of the first things they did when they immigrated was to bring a Torah scroll that they wrote for Joseph's tomb, after collecting penny by penny for this purpose, and Esther said: 'This is the child we did not have.' It is a privilege for us to be on the list of citizens of Samaria."