Image by Getty Images

By David Ian Klein January 20, 2021

On his final day in office, Trump pardoned Aviem Sella, the Israeli businessman who recruited Jonathan Pollard.

Sella, a former commander in the Israeli Air Force, was indicted on three counts of espionage in 1986 for recruiting Pollard. Sella was not extradited to the U.S. from Israel.

Though less high-profile than Pollard, Israeli officials had long been advocating for Sella’s release as well.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

According to the White House’s statement on the pardon, Sella’s request for clemency was backed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ambassador Ron Dermer, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and Miriam Adelson – the wife of late Jewish philanthropist and GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. Following the end of his parole last month, Jonathan Pollard and his wife were shuttled on Adelson’s private jet to Israel, where they were met on the tarmac by Netanyahu.

The official statement about Sella’s pardon read, in part: “The State of Israel has issued a full and unequivocal apology, and has requested the pardon in order to close this unfortunate chapter in U.S.-Israel relations.”

Correction: Due to an editing error, the original version of this article incorrectly stated that Aviem Sella served time in an American prison.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount