Netanyahu asks the US to give Pollard

Israeli officials expect Jonathan Pollard, convicted in the US in 1987 for spying for Israel, will be released soon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the United States to allow Pollard to return to Israel, and not to remain in the United States for five years after parole, reports the Associated Press, citing Israeli media.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu asked the officials to keep secret that Pollard will be released this Friday.

The Pollard case raises serious controversies between the United States and Israel.

What Jonathan Pollard Spies

After graduating from Stanford University in California, Pollard began working as an analyst in the intelligence of the US Navy, where he had access to classified information. According to the American and Israeli Russian-language press, “in 1983, he became aware of the fact that the US intelligence services deliberately concealed vital information for its security from Israel, thus violating the conditions of the US-Israel Memorandum of Intelligence Exchange (1983), which obliged the US hand over to Israel all this kind of information. "

According to the same sources, “considering that this information (including weapons of mass destruction) is needed by Israel, as well as facing anti-Semitism on the part of American intelligence officers,” Pollard became an employee of Lakam (Bureau of Scientific Relations) - Israeli special services under the Ministry of Defense, engaged in military-technical intelligence.

The communication took place through the Israeli embassy in Washington and the Israeli intelligence officer Avi Sella. While traveling to Israel and France, Pollard met personally with Lakma’s head Rafi Eitan.

For his espionage, Pollard received $ 10 thousand from Avi Sella and a diamond and sapphire ring for his girlfriend Anna Henderson, with a total price of $ 10 thousand. In addition, Pollard began to receive $ 1500 per month from the Israelis, and he and Anna Henderson, who became his wife, were presented with valuable gifts. In total, Pollard managed to get about $ 45 thousand.

From May 1984 to November 1985, Pollard handed over copies to the Israelis about 1800 secret documents. At the same time, he stole over one million secret documents.

According to a petition sent by Israeli lawyer Pollard Nitsana Dorshan-Leitner to the Supreme Court of Israel, the information provided included: a special technical report on the Strela-10 Soviet missile system (SA-13); analysis of the development trends of the anti-aircraft missile systems of the USSR naval forces; information about the level of noise emitted by ships and submarines; a study of the intelligence work of the naval forces of Israel; a study of port facilities in Tobruk, Libya; information about the possibility of electronic war between Iran and Iraq; documents on the military significance of expanding technical infrastructure in South Yemen; data on non-traditional methods of warfare in the naval forces of Libya; information on building a nerve gas production plant in Syria; data on the complex of PLO buildings in Tunisia.

In October, the Israeli air force struck 1985 in a serious blow to the bases and the headquarters of the PLO in Tunisia, thanks in large part to the information received from Pollard.

According to 14’s declassified December 2012 of the Central Intelligence Agency’s 1987, assessing the damage caused by Pollard, the Israelis did not ask Pollard for any information about US defense activities, but were interested only in intelligence related to Arab countries, Pakistan and the USSR, especially weapons.

How much Pollard is left to parole

Under the terms of parole, Pollard must remain in the United States for another five years.

However, 60-year-old Pollard said he wants to emigrate to Israel, where his second wife lives and where he can count on compensation from the state.

Even during his imprisonment, Israel promised to grant citizenship to Pollard.

Previously, the "Forum" wrote that Israel for several years sought Pollard’s release, however, these attempts were unsuccessful.