On 21
November 1985, Naval Investigative Service analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard
was arrested for supplying classified information to Israeli intelligence.
He was convicted of espionage on 4 June 1986, and sentenced to life in prison.
His wife, Anne Louise Henderson Pollard, was also convicted of espionage,
and received a five-year prison sentence.
In late
September 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin appealed to President Clinton
for clemency for Pollard. (Washington Post, 30 Sep. 1995, A9; Paul
Bedard, "White House Clemency for Spy Is Highly Unlikely," Washington
Times, 30 Sep. 1995, A2.)
On 21
November 1995, Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship. The Israeli Interior
Minister "decided to grant Mr. Pollard Israeli citizenship in response
to a request from his lawyers, and after receiving new information about
the case." Pollard will soon be eligible for parole after serving 10
years of his life sentence. "His lawyers have argued that Israeli citizenship,
which guarantees him the right to settle in Israel, would help him win parole."
(New York Times, 22 Nov. 1995, A5.)
In July
1996, President Clinton again turned down a request for clemency. (Bill
Gertz, "Clinton Rejects Clemency Bid by Israeli Spy Pollard,"
Washington Times, 27 Jul. 1996, A2.)
On 9 March 1998, UPI reported that Israeli Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh is seeking "new ways" to secure Pollard's release. Naveh expects to visit Pollard in jail "in a few weeks."
Pollard
became an issue at the Israeli-Palestinian talks in Wye, Maryland, in October
1998 when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
proposed the spy's release as part of the budding West Bank accord. President
Clinton agreed to review the case. (Walter Pincus,
"Convicted Spy Becomes Bargaining
Chip," Washington Post, 24 Oct. 1998, A20.)
Despite dire predictions from those opposed to such an action, President Bill Clinton did not include Pollard among those granted pardons and commutations on 20 January 2001
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