JERUSALEM (JTA) — The former wife of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard was brought to Israel for assistance.
Anne Pollard and her elderly father arrived in Israel on Monday after being found living in a one-bedroom apartment in New York in dire financial and physical condition.
Pollard reportedly called the Israeli Consulate in New York requesting help and saying that she had not eaten in six days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, upon being apprised of the situation, ordered her to be taken care of.
A special team established to help Pollard will find her a permanent residence and a job in the coming weeks, according to reports. She served five years in prison for her role in the affair, and later moved to Israel, where she received a government stipend. Pollard later returned to the United States.
"We have a moral and humanitarian obligation to Anne Pollard, who paid a heavy personal price of five years in prison," Netanyahu said, according to Ynet.
Jonathan Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 on charges of spying on the United States for Israel, divorced his wife in part so she could move on with her life. He remarried while in prison.
