Former spy for Israel, who was released from an American prison last week after 30 years, received an offer to become a research analyst.
NEW YORK – An employer who had intended to give a salaried position to Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard retracted the offer Monday, because the conditions of his parole would have prevented him from doing his job.
Pollard received an offer to become a research analyst in the finance department of a respected investment firm. But his parole conditions require him to wear an electronic ankle bracelet at all times for GPS tracking of his whereabouts and to be subjected to unfettered monitoring and inspection of his computers and those of his employer.
He cannot leave his home in New York City before 7 a.m. or come home after 7 p.m., which makes it difficult to travel to and from work, to attend prayer services, or to accept invitations to dinner on the Sabbath and holidays from friends and relatives.
Speaking at the Louis Brandeis award dinner of the ZOA in New York on Sunday night, Pollard’s attorney, Eliot Lauer, said that due to the conditions, his client is “still not free,” despite leaving prison on Friday after serving 30 years of a life sentence. He asked the Jewish community to continue to struggle for Pollard’s freedom.
“The parole commission’s unnecessary conditions make it virtually impossible for him to obtain a normal job in New York City,” Lauer said. “The employer who offered him work took back the offer because federal authorities asked to install monitoring devices in the company’s computer system if it employed him.”
Pollard must also answer every phone call or knock on his door in the middle of the night, because it could be a test by a parole officer that if failed could lead to him being sent back to prison.
The Free Pollard campaign continued to ask Knesset members on Monday to refrain from criticizing the conditions of his parole and to leave the battle to his attorneys who are trying to obtain a date for a hearing before a district court judge in New York as soon as possible. At least a dozen MKs, including Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi), rejected that request and released statements Friday criticizing the conditions.
“Everyone must display responsibility and restraint in hopes that it will lead to improving the situation on the legal track,” a campaign spokesman said.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post