Confirmed: Jonathan Pollard To Be Released in November
Thirty years into a life sentence for spying for Israel, the former U.S. intelligence analyst has been granted parole


On Tuesday the U.S. Parole Commission granted parole to Jonathan Pollard, the only person in U.S. history to be sentenced to life in prison for spying on an ally. A former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, Pollard was arrested in 1985 for selling classified documents to Israel, a crime for which he plead guilty the following year. According to a statement from his lawyers, Pollard, now 61, will be released on November 21, or at the two-thirds mark of a 45-year term. This was Pollard’s second parole hearing; last year, Pollard, who is serving time at a medium-security penitentiary in North Carolina, was denied parole.
Last year we published an editorial supporting Pollard release, which can be read here, along with reactions from prominent members of the Jewish community.
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Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.