Jonathan Pollard Israel spy greeted by Netanyahu after flying to Tel Aviv

[Mr. Sparkle]

Source: BBC

Jonathan Pollard , the former US Navy analyst who spent 30 years in prison for spying for Israel, has flown to Tel Aviv a month after a travel ban ended. Mr Pollard, 66, and his wife Esther were greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recited a Jewish blessing with them.

"You're home," Mr Netanyahu said, before handing over an Israeli ID card. Mr Pollard was arrested in 1985 and given a life sentence after pleading guilty to selling US secrets to Israel. He said he had been frustrated by the US withholding key intelligence from its staunch ally.

Israel initially denied Mr Pollard had spied for the state, insisting he had worked with "rogue" officials. But in 1995 Israel granted him citizenship, and three years later it officially recognised him as an agent. Successive US administrations rejected Israeli appeals for Mr Pollard to be shown clemency, and it was not until 2015 that he was released on parole.

The Pollards flew to Israel from the US state of New Jersey on board a private jet owned by US billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam.

Link to tweet

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55484433

[snowybirdie]

1. Good riddance

He betrayed his own country.

[COL Mustard]

3. May His Name Be Forgotten

In this country. He was a rogue and a traitor who hurt many innocent people.

[Ingersollman]

2. I

imagine I'll catch hell for this:

And we support Israel, why?

[Deuce]

4. I am quite sure there are many that share your sentiments...

[Mickju]

19. I certainly do.

[atreides1]

30. I do

And have for a long time...

[2naSalit]

15. +1

[nykym]

5. Thick as

Thieves

[Oscarthegreat]

6. A sucker is born every day

I am Jewish, but anyone who thinks Israel is our friend and ally is a naive fool.

[mitch96]

11. Agree, they are all about survival of the state...

Between pollard and the USS Liberty incident Im a bit wary.
M

[Grins]

23. I'm not Jewish but...

...for years I was pro-Israel. But then this, and the Liberty, and the hold Israel had on Nixon, and both Bush’s, and what Israel does to the Palestinians, their interference in US elections and US policy, and so much more - Nope!

We are only an ally when they need us.

[LeftInTX]

7. And then Netanyahu showed him the Jared Kuschner Courtyard and his huge Trump signs.

[KG]

14. !

[2naSalit]

16. +1

[NCjack]

9. I hope that Pres. Biden bars Pollard from ever returning to USA for any reason.

[greenjar_01]

10. Stay there, asshole

[Grins]

24. Make that "...holes" to include Adelson.

He is more Israeli than he is American.

[GoneOffShore]

35. I look at Adelson as a gangster. And gangsters have no countries.

[karin_sj]

12. Traitor

Talk about in your face, blatant disrespect and disregard for our country by welcoming this traitorous spy with fanfare and open arms. Just disgusting.

[KG]

13. worst. 'ally'. ever.

BDS

[colorado_ufo]

17. Well, this was stomach-turning.

You sucked off America but consider Israel "home." Kiss the ground. Make no mistake, WE are also glad that you are there, traitors.

"It is the future of the Jewish people . . . "

This is the problem of a country-state that is a religious state, no matter the religion: People's beliefs are too intertwined with politics, and there is no clear objectivity in dealing with the rest of the world.

I realize that Netanyahu has his own country's interests first, but what he did could have been done privately, without the public face-slap to America.

[Dawson Leery]

20. He should be barred from ever coming back to America

and American territories, including embassies and consulates.

[mountain grammy]

21. Sickening.

[LiberalFighter]

22. Adelson and his wife should had stayed there.

[cab67]

25. There's way too much conflation out there.

A lot of people see Judaism and Israel as one and the same.

They are not. Judaism is a set of religious beliefs and traditions dating back to antiquity. It's at the core of Christianity and Islam. Its followers have survived millennia of prejudice and genocide.

Israel is a nation state founded in 1948.

I'm not Jewish, but my wife is. I've learned to speak very, very carefully around my in-laws whenever Israel comes up in discussion. I can see why it's a touchy subject; there are now-elderly Holocaust survivors in her family, and their perception of Israel comes from experiences I cannot imagine. I can see why they have a hard time drawing a distinction between their heritage and a foreign government, even though I see it plain as day.


Something else to think about, and it's something I've seen in the news media and during my own visits to Israel - have you ever noticed that the biggest hypernationalist loudmouths in Israel were born and raised in the US?

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

31. I have never had a problem distinguishing between

The policies of the government of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

[maxsolomon]

26. Did Adelson buy the Ambassodor's house for Pollard?

What a mensch.

[stopbush]

27. A disgusting TRAITOR to the USA.

Fuck him, his wife and Netanyahu.

[paleotn]

28. Why is he out of jail? Why?

For espionage, the penalty should be life without the possibility of parole.

[Dawson Leery]

29. +1

[EndlessWire]

33. Yeah, as said up thread

that's a slap to our face.

Lately, we have let various spies off lightly, and given them big, big breaks. But, when the leader of another nation meets them at the plane, that's a bit too much.

This guy was on parole? How??

[orangecrush]

34. There are countless American Jewish patriots

This traitors actions are an anomaly.