Likud Source Hopeful That Pollard Will Be Brought to Israel Next Month

A source in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has told Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, that the prime minister is hopeful that he may be able to bring home Jonathan Pollard, with Pollard to arrive a week before the March 2 election. Pollard is not allowed to leave the U.S. under the terms of his parole.

After President Donald Trump unveiled his peace plan and the expected release of Israeli-American backpacker Naama Issachar from Russian prison, Netanyahu could try to achieve another diplomatic breakthrough ahead of the Knesset elections, with bringing Pollard to Israel.

Pollard issued a public plea last August for all these who possibly can to intervene on his behalf with President Trump to lift parole conditions which prevent him from taking care of his wife, Esther, who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

“It is a matter of life and death,” he said in a conversation with Hamodia at the time. “The cancer has spread to her bones,” Pollard revealed. “This is the greatest danger to life, and makes it critical for her to undergo intensive and aggressive chemotherapy treatment followed by surgery as soon as possible . She is likely to be incapacitated for long periods of time. I need to be able to take care of her. But in order for me to do so, I must be mobile.

“Right now, even during the day I can’t accompany her to doctor appointments or treatments – or even the hospital – without special permission each time, which may or may not be given for any reason. Because of the curfew, from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. I am chained to the apartment, unable to leave even if my wife is having a medical emergency. These parole conditions have to be lifted so that I can take care of her. She has no one else who can do so. “

“She fought for my life for 30 years, now it’s my turn to fight for hers,” Pollard added. “I am hopeful that given the President’s repeated demonstrations of compassion, that he will agree to terminate my parole.”

Readers are asked to continue to daven for Esther Yocheved bas Raizel Brachah.