Jonathan Pollard, the convicted spy for Israel whose story haunted the American Jewish community’s relations with the US government for decades, is unrepentant.
“The bottom line on this charge of dual loyalty is, I’m sorry, we’re Jews, and if we’re Jews, we will always have dual loyalty,” Pollard said in an interview published Thursday in Israel Hayom, his first extensive remarks since his release from prison in 2015.
Pollard suggested that Jews were deluding themselves if they thought of America as a home and suggested he would counsel a young US Jew working in the American security apparatus to spy for Israel.
“I’d tell him, not doing anything is unacceptable. So simply going home [to Israel] is not acceptable. Making aliyah is not acceptable,” Pollard said. “You have to make a decision whether your concern for Israel and loyalty to Israel and loyalty to your fellow Jews is more important than your life.”
Pollard was paroled from his life sentence in 2015. The terms of his parole were not renewed last year and he flew to Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted him at the airport. Sheldon Adelson, the late owner of Israel Hayom, provided a private plane for Pollard to fly to Israel.
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