Esther Pollard, the wife of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, died in the early hours of Monday morning from complications arising from COVID-19. She was buried in Jerusalem later in the afternoon at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery in the capital, with many in attendance.
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Pollard was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center on Saturday, where she was hospitalized in the COVID-19 intensive care unit. She was later diagnosed as suffering from septic shock.
"This is not how I expected for us to come to the land. But as much as you loved the land the land will now love you. The land will embrace you and you will truly become part of the land you loved so much," Pollard said at the funeral. "She was the one who taught me love to a god-given land ... she was the one who taught me everything I knew on Halachah, the Torah, everything."
Pollard continued, saying how he was "incredibly proud of her"." He added: "In the end, which came all too quickly, I never saw anyone as brave as she was." He ended his eulogy with, "I will love you forever."
Video: Yoni Rikner
"Esther and Jonathan always wanted to participate in forums that support the Samaria communities. This is a sad day for the entire Jewish people, who mourn this historic and exemplar person," mourned the head of the Shomron Regional Council Yosi Dagan . "Jonathan, we promise you that you will never be alone, and Esther, you will continue fighting for the truth up in the heavens."
"She left you a treasure chest for you to go on, she expects you to go on," he continued.
Another mourner said, "Never once did she give up on her dreams to come to Eretz Yisrael with Jonathan. He was her morning, afternoon, evening, late supper, Rosh Hodesh, everything was Jonathan for her." The mourner said that Jonathan Pollard told him how one of the first thing he did after arriving in Israel was to say a tribute to his wife. "She had outer beauty and inner strength, she was not afraid of any single person."
Pollard, who has been battling cancer for several years, was hospitalized "following a deterioration in her condition" after contracting the coronavirus two weeks ago.
Esther and Jonathan Pollard were married while he was serving a 35-year prison sentence in the United States, over espionage for Israel. He was released from prison after serving 30 years and spent the next five years on strict parole before immigrating to Israel in December 2020.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted on Monday, "I was saddened to learn of the passing of Esther Pollard, a woman whose devotion and love for Jonathan Pollard was a symbol for strength, resolve and faith. May she rest in peace," he said.
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