Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in a US prison after he was convicted of spying for Israel, has officially entered the race for the Knesset elections in October.
The former US Navy intelligence analyst, who was born in Galveston, Texas, will stand for the centre-right Israel First list led by former deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel.
Pollard said Israel needs “a new government dedicated to protecting the land and the people of Israel,” adding that after the October 7 Hamas-led attack he saw a country that had been “abandoned and betrayed”.
“I’ve known many Knesset members, but after October 7, no one wanted to take responsibility, to this day,” he said in a statement filmed near the Western Wall yesterday.
Party leader Haskel said: “The Israel First party is receiving a significant boost today from Israeli hero Jonathan Pollard, who paid a very heavy personal price for his commitment to Israel and the Jewish people.”
Pollard was convicted in the United States in 1987 of spying for Israel and released in 2015 after serving 30 years. He made aliyah in 2020.
In recent years he has become an outspoken advocate of hard line right-wing policies, criticising both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former premier Naftali Bennett.
Back in 2002, while still serving his life sentence in the US, there was a failed attempt to place Pollard on the list of the small nationalist Herut party, ahead of the 16th Knesset elections.
Earlier this year he said he favoured the “forcible transfer” of Gaza’s current residents and the annexation and repopulation of the Strip by Israelis, positions that align with the most nationalist fringes of the Israeli right.
Israel First, on the other hand, is positioning itself in the so called “third bloc” of centre right parties that aim to force a compromise between Likud and the main opposition factions to create a broad Zionist unity government.
To get more Israel news, click here to sign up for our free Israel Briefing newsletter.