Ex-spy Jonathan Pollard says he’s entering politics, slams Netanyahu and Bennett |
Former spy Jonathan Pollard, who spent decades in US prison before being released and later allowed to move to Israel, announced on Tuesday his intention to join politics ahead of the upcoming Knesset election, saying that Israel’s current leaders had failed the country.
According to Channel 13 news, Pollard, 71, is forming a new party together with Nissim Louk, the father of Shani Louk, who was murdered during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, with her body abducted from the Nova rave into Gaza and recovered by the IDF seven months later.
Making the announcement during an interview Monday night with the network, Pollard was asked why he had changed his mind after avoiding joining the political fray for years.
“October 7,” he answered. “Up until that point, I thought that my abandonment and the betrayal by the government was the exception to the rule. But after October 7, I realized that I was not the exception, that the government and the military had betrayed and abandoned the entire country.”
Asked what his political platform was, Pollard, speaking in English, said that” “Probably the most important principle that I have is military self sufficiency, and I think we all understand why that’s important.”
“I believe very strongly that everyone in this country — Arabs, Jews, it doesn’t matter, right and left — has to serve mandatory national service of one’s choice,” he added, referring to the ongoing debate over draft deferments for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Arab Israelis are also largely exempt from the draft.
בלעדי: הראיון המלא עם המרגל ג׳ונתן פולארד שמצטרף לפוליטיקה. בעד טרנספר בעזה, בעד גיוס........