Jonathan Pollard
Photo: AP
Pollard: Let me see dying father
Jonathan Pollard's relatives issue plea for compassionate leave from US authorities to allow him to leave prison, see father in hospital after receiving news he 'may not last through day'. 'He was crying so hard,' says wife
Relatives of Jonathan Pollard – incarcerated for the past 26 years for espionage – are entreating US officials to allow him to see his father, 95-year old Morris Pollard, following the latter's hospitalization in dire condition.
The wife added that the father and son had tried speaking on the phone, but that the elder Pollard was too weak even to hold the receiver to his ear. She said his sudden illness had come as a shock because he had been relatively healthy for his age.
Esther Pollard, his wife, said she received a call from her crying husband Saturday. "He was crying so hard that it was difficult to process, and now I'm crying too. He said his father Morris was dying and they don't know if he will last through the day," she said.
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"Jonathan told him how much he loves him and thanked him for all he had taught him throughout the wonderful years they had together," Esther recounted.
"Jonathan's voice broke when he told his father how sorry he is that the hopes and dreams of being together over the vacation were not realized, and asked him in a choked voice to kiss his mother when he gets to heaven, to tell her he loves and misses her."
The wife says her husband pleaded with her to do everything in her power to convince the authorities to allow him to leave the prison and be with his father in his final hours.
"We ask the Israeli government to be actively and uninhibitedly involved, and to file an official request with the US administration to give Jonathan clemency for humanitarian reasons," she said.
"When Jonathan's mother dies he didn't get the chance to say goodbye. We appeal to the US administration with pleas to allow Jonathan to kiss his father for the last time."
Adi Ginsburg, who is close to the Pollards, told Ynet it was the spy's dream to see his father again. "If it can give him even a moment's peace after a lifetime of torture then it should be done," he said.
Ginsburg added that the family had tried to get in touch with the Prime Minister's Office throughout the day, but to no avail.
"We call on the prime minister, all of the ministers and the Opposition chairwoman to use their influence with members of the Senate, the Congress, and anyone else to put everything aside and join the battle," he said.
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