It took 35 years to get here.
An emotional moment for the former U.S. Navy analyst who has served three decades in prison for spying for Israel.
Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther arrived in Tel Aviv to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The leader offered a Hebrew prayer of thanksgiving for the deliverance of the captives.
Pollard had long expressed a desire to emigrate to Israel, which gave him citizenship.
The espionage affair has been a rare strain on US-Israel relations for decades.
“We are in ecstasy, we are finally home after 35 years.”
Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage, and was released on parole in 2015.
Some people saw it as a gift from Israel by the Trump administration.
Video transcription
NARRATOR: It took 35 years to get here. An emotional moment for the former U.S. Navy analyst who has served three decades in prison for spying for Israel. Jonathan Pollard and his wife, Esther, arrived in Tel Aviv to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The leader asked for a Hebrew prayer of thanksgiving for the deliverance of the captives.
Pollard had long expressed a desire to emigrate to Israel, which gave him citizenship. The espionage affair has been a rare strain on US-Israel relations for decades.
JONATHAN POLLARD: Ecstasy to finally be home after 35 years.
NARRATOR: Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and was released on parole in 2015. year’s travel ban was renewed last month.