Exactly two years ago, on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, Jonathan Pollard and his late wife Esther made aliyah to Israel after Pollard spent 30 years in prison and five years under restricted release.
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. He was not allowed to leave his home between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., he was monitored by a GPS device, even on Shabbat and holidays, and his computers were monitored.
In November 2020, the restrictions were scheduled to be lifted, and the Trump Administration decided not to continue them, allowing Pollard to finally fulfill his lifelong dream of moving to Israel the following month. The Pollards lived in Israel for one year before Esther Pollard, who was battling cancer, contracted the coronavirus and passed away. Pollard remarried in Fall 2022.
"Today I mark two years since I immigrated to the Holy Land," Pollard said Sunday. "It's very emotional, but at the same time it's very painful because of the loss of my dear Esther."
"Esther did everything so that I would be released from prison and be able to immigrate to Israel. Thanks to her, my immigration to Israel was made out of a deep connection to my essence, to my roots, to Judaism. Thanks to her, I gained more than just physical freedom," he said.