Jonathan Pollard Collapses in Jail Cell
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Convicted spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard collapsed in his jail cell and was hospitalized.
Pollard reportedly collapsed Saturday. He reportedly had been complaining of being in serious pain for several weeks.
Pollard’s wife, Esther, told the Israeli news site Ynet that she has been updated on her husband’s condition and asked people to pray for him. It is unknown what caused his collapse.
Pollard recently marked his 27th year in prison. He has suffered from a variety of illnesses since being imprisoned for life in 1986 after accepting a plea bargain for spying for Israel while working as a civilian analyst for the U.S. Navy.
Esther Pollard recently asked U.S. President Barak Obama to grant clemency for her husband, since U.S presidents often grant clemency requests from Thanksgiving through the winter holidays.
The calls to release Pollard, who is said to be in ill health, have intensified in recent months, with pleas from lawmakers and former top officials of both U.S. political parties.
Pollard has been hospitalized several times during his time in prison. In April, he was rushed to a federal hospital outside of the prison on the eve of Passover, suffering from an unspecified emergency condition.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
