Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard was released after 30 years in jail

       
Jonathan Pollard was a spy on behalf of Israel

Israel turned around and gave the information to The Soviet Union

The United States continues to provide Israel daily and yearly, with billions of dollars, information, technology and military support.

U.S. Secretary of Defense, Casper Weinberger (himself partly Jewish), considered Pollard as damaging as any spy ever to U.S. interests.

It is difficult for me, even in the so-called “year of the spy,” to conceive of a greater harm to national security than that caused by the defendant in view of the breadth, the critical importance to the U.S., and the high sensitivity of the information he sold to Israel. - Casper Weinberger

Jewish News Online, Spy Jonathan Pollard is released after 30 years in jail, Nov 10, 2015:

Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard has been freed after three decades behind bars.

The 61-year-old was jailed for life in 1987 for passing US defence documents to Israel, but was released on Friday morning, ending one of the most contentious diplomatic issues between the US and Israel.

Under the terms of his parole, he will not be permitted to leave the US for five years without special permission from the president, but he has offered to renounce his citizenship if granted his wish to move to Israel with the wife he married while in prison.

His request is being backed by two New York Democrats who have written to the attorney general.

Gerald Nadler and Elliot Engel said: “Despite the serious consequences that may follow such a decision, including being permanently barred from returning to the United States, he is willing to undertake this measure.”

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard.

“After three long and difficult decades, Jonathan has been reunited with his family. May this Sabbath bring him much joy and peace.”

Mr Netanyahu said: “The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan A Pollard. As someone who raised Jonathan’s case for years with successive American presidents, I had long hoped this day would come.”

Pollard’s release from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, came nearly three decades after his arrest for handing over classified US government information to Israel.

His release caps one of the most high-profile spy sagas in modern American history. Supporters said he was punished excessively for actions taken on behalf of an American ally, while critics, including government officials, derided him as a traitor who sold out his country.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the crime merited a life sentence, given the amount of damage that Mr Pollard did to the United States government,” said Joseph diGenova, who prosecuted the case in Washington. “I would have been perfectly pleased if he had spent the rest of his life in jail.”

[...]

Israeli media said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested Obama allow Pollard to move immediately to Israel, waiving the otherwise mandatory five years’ parole in America.