Vice Prime Minister Moshe (Bogey) Ya'alon on Monday joined the chorus of Israeli leaders calling for the release of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. "After 27 years, the time has come for the president of the United States to give the order to free Jonathan Pollard," Ya'alon tweeted. "I pray for Jonathan's health and hope to see him free soon, and return to his family and his people." Ya'alon's comments come one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres also remarked on the Pollard case. "We are now celebrating the Festival of Freedom," Netanyahu said. "I think that the time has come to release Jonathan Pollard. He has already been punished. Israel has already expressed its regret over the matter. On humanitarian grounds, he needs to be allowed to finish his life honorably and to be given his personal freedom around the Jewish peoples Festival of Freedom." Netanyahu said that he has done much to work for Pollard's release and would continue to do so. Pollard, who worked as an intelligence analyst, was sentenced to life in 1987 after being convicted of spying for Israel. On average, U.S. citizens caught spying for allies tend to serve less than 10 years in prison, a fact that has prompted politicians in Israel and abroad to call Pollard's sentence disproportionate and unjust. Pollard, who suffers from ongoing health problems, complained of sharp pain on Friday and was rushed to a nearby hospital after prison medical officials were unable to ease his discomfort. Pollard spent Passover Eve at the U.S. Federal Correctional Institution Butner, complaining of great pain. His wife, Esther, has remarked recently that she fears her husband will not survive his 27th year in prison. She has asked that "every Israeli household and every synagogue pray for Jonathan." Esther Pollard said on Monday her husband was conscious in the hospital, but receiving infusions because he is unable to eat or drink, Arutz 7 reported. On Sunday, President Shimon Peres vowed to send a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama asking him to release convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. Esther Pollard made her own appeal to Obama in March, issuing a public statement that said, I would like to call on President Obama, from the bottom of my heart: Please listen to the voices of countless U.S. officials and the voice of the people of Israel and its leaders. Please commute Jonathans sentence and release him immediately. Netanyahu had asked President Bill Clinton to pardon Pollard during the negotiations on the Wye River Memorandum in 1998, and said that Clinton had agreed. The request, however, was overruled by then director of the CIA George Tenet, who was outraged by the prospect of Pollard walking free. Netanyahu also sent a personal request for Pollards release to Obama, and other high-ranking officials in the governments of both countries have made similar requests. Even after Pollards father, Dr. Morris Pollard, passed away in June 2011, Pollard was not allowed to attend his funeral. According to Army Radio, Esther met President Shimon Peres at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday and urged Peres to do what he can to free her husband. Esther said she did not want to become a widow and that "Jonathan's strength is waning." She said her husband "can't withstand crisis after crisis" and that sending him back to prison after a stay in the hospital will be a "death sentence" for him. According to a statement by the Office of the President on Monday, Peres told Esther in their meeting, I am very disturbed and worried by the latest reports on Jonathans health. It is my duty as president to be an emissary and use all means at my disposal vis-à-vis the American administration to expedite Jonathans release." Peres went on to say "I intend to work quickly, taking into account the most serious considerations, and to appeal to President Obama and request that, in light of his severe health situation and after having sat for many long years in an American prison, he positively consider releasing Jonathan Pollard from prison." Knesset lobby chairman MK Uri Ariel, who was present at the meeting, gave Peres a letter which he asked the president to deliver to Obama on behalf of 81 MKs. The letter urges Obama to release Pollard.
Israeli politicians continue to call for Pollard's release
"I pray for Jonathan's health and hope to see him free soon, and return to his family and his people," Vice Prime Minister Moshe (Bogey) Ya'alon tweets • Prime Minister Netanyahu says he has done much to work for Pollard's release and will continue.
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