In his first interview since arriving in Israel in late 2020, Jonathan Pollard, an American who served a 30-year prison sentence for spying against the United States for Israel, defended his action.
In excerpts from the interview conducted by the daily “Israel Hayom”, published on Monday, Pollard described his happiness for being a free man in Israel, expressing at the same time his regret for not being able to conceive children due to his imprisonment.
Pollard accused the United States of “stabbing Israel in the back” by withholding intelligence information from its ally, adding that the threats facing Israel are “serious.”
He explained that the American government was hiding intelligence information about Israel and lying about it, when it cooperated with Tel Aviv, claiming that he had seen this himself in the meetings. He continued, “I know that I crossed a line, but I had no other choice.”
Pollard, now 66, sold military secrets to Israel while working as a civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy in the 1980s.
He was arrested in 1985 after unsuccessful attempts to obtain asylum in the Israeli embassy in Washington, and he pleaded guilty, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
This espionage case embarrassed Israel and tarnished its relations with the United States for years.
US defense and intelligence officials said his espionage had caused extensive damage and had firmly refused his release.
But after serving 30 years in federal prison, he was released in 2015, on the condition that he remain under probation for 5 years.
Pollard received the heroes’ reception in Israel upon his arrival last December.
Source: “The Associated Press”