In 2009, as I was about to be named Israel's ambassador to the United States, a veteran American intelligence officer approached me and said, "As the ambassador, do whatever you want – but under no circumstances can you handle Pollard's case." That warning has stuck with me on various levels.
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Pollard is my contemporary and comes from a similar American Jewish background. Like me, he had a choice between immigrating to Israel, serving in the IDF, and becoming an Israeli, or staying in the US and serve Israel's interests from a far. While I decided to make aliyah, Pollard chose to remain in the US.
He was made a US Navy intelligence specialist and ended up leaking highly classified material to Israeli agents. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to life in prison. I always wondered if I would have followed Pollard's path had I not immigrated to Israel.
Beyond the personal aspect, the Pollard affair kept me busy on the diplomatic level. Pollard worked for an unofficial body within Israeli intelligence, and the state took responsibility for his actions and even granted him citizenship. So as an ambassador, I saw it as my duty to work for his release.
I broached the subject in every meeting I had with US intelligence officials, lawmakers in Congress and government officials; as did then-President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu – but to no avail.
It is important that Israelis understand that while in Israel Pollard was perceived here as a hero, in the United States he was considered a traitor. Even senior figures in the American Jewish community wished him "to rot in prison for the rest of his life." The Jewish justices who heard the case, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Abraham Sofaer, told me that Pollard was guilty and that he received the appropriate sentence.
President Barack Obama explained to me that Pollard, who spied for another country, could not be released while hundreds of thousands of black or Latino American prisoners serve long sentences for drug trafficking. My appeal for a pardon from then-CIA Director George Tenet was rejected outright.
Despite a near-consensus on the US regarding Pollard's release, Israel pushed the humanitarian aspect. We noted that some of the crimes attributed to Pollard, such as exposing American agents operating behind the Iron Curtain, were committed by Soviet-American double agent Aldrich Ames. We stressed that Russian agents arrested in the United States were sentenced to much shorter prison terms than Pollard.
His case was, in face, the first of its kind, as never before had a person who spied for an allied state been sentenced to life imprisonment. The entire affair reeked of anti-Israel sentiments.
I continued to work for Pollard's release until my last day in office. I was the last Israeli official to visit him in federal prison – an experience that was both shocking and inspiring. I met a man who had gone through hell and was profoundly concerned for his wife's health; an educated man who was very versed in Israel's affairs. This meeting with Pollard was one of the most difficult experiences of my life.
How should Israel welcome Pollard now that he is free? It is very important to remember that the affair has left deep scars on the American Jewish community, and on important parts of the American defense establishment.
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To this day, an American Jew who has visited Israel cannot hope for a job interview at the CIA, and American media sometimes quotes "senior American intelligence officials" who accuse Israel of spying on the United States.
Pollard should be welcomed with the warm embrace reserved for every Jew who immigrates to Israel, but we must also be discrete and considerate of American sensibilities.
As an ambassador, I didn't listen to the advice to stay away from the Pollard affair. Now I am proud that our efforts to release him have proven successful.
