Israel spy returns home after 30 years in US jail

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has welcomed Jonathan Pollard at Ben Gurion airport on Wednesday. Pollard spent 30 years in US prison for spying for Israel.

Jerusalem: Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in US prison for spying for Israel, arrived in Israel early Wednesday with his wife, triumphantly kissing the ground as he exited the aircraft in the culmination of a decades-long affair that had long strained relations between the two close allies.

“We are ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years,” Pollard said as he was greeted at Israel's international airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli leader jubilantly presented Pollard and his wife Esther with Israeli ID cards, granting them citizenship.

“You're home,” Netanyahu said, reciting a Hebrew blessing of thanks. “What a moment. What a moment.”

Pollard arrived on a private plane provided by American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire supporter of both Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.

Pollard, 66, and his wife walked slowly down the steps as they exited the aircraft.

Pollard got on his knees and kissed the ground as his wife put her hand on his back with Netanyahu standing by in the darkness.

Esther Pollard, who is battling cancer, then kissed the ground and was helped up by her husband.

Pollard thanked Netanyahu and the Jewish people for supporting him.

“We hope to become productive citizens as soon and as quickly as possible and to get on with our lives here,” he said.

Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy, sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon in the 1980s.

He was arrested in 1985 after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and pleaded guilty.

The espionage affair embarrassed Israel and tarnished its relations with the United States for years.

Pollard was given a life sentence and US defense and intelligence officials consistently argued against his release.

But after serving 30 years in federal prison, he was released on November 20, 2015, and placed on a five-year parole period that ended in November.

That cleared the way for him to leave the US.

AP