By Ron Kampeas

(JTA) – Esther Pollard, who spent decades fighting to see her husband live free in Israel after being convicted for spying on the United States, died in Jerusalem on Monday, Jan. 31 of complications related to COVID. She had also been battling breast cancer. She was 68.

Pollard, née Elaine Zeitz, became acquainted with her husband while leading the Canadian branch of the movement for his release. They married at Butner prison, in North Carolina, in 1994, and she assumed leadership of the worldwide movement campaigning on his behalf.

Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. Navy analyst, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987. Esther Pollard – who changed her first name as the pair grew more religious together – was his most tireless advocate, speaking to Jewish groups and meeting with Israeli and U.S. leaders. She was able to list names, off-the-cuff, of other convicted spies who had served far less time for crimes that she and Pollard claimed were more far-reaching. She went on a hunger strike in 1996 and was excoriating in her criticism of the U.S. Jewish and Israeli establishment for what she called the abandonment of her husband..

The couple was finally united with a degree of freedom in 2015 when President Barack Obama’s administration did not contest his appeal for parole. However, he was restricted to residency in New York, and the couple was unable to achieve their dream of moving to Israel until Dec. 30, 2020, when the Trump administration opted not to extend the terms of parole.

Pollard’s pleas to be by his wife while she got treatment for her cancer outside his area of restriction may have helped play a role in the Trump administration’s decision to drop objections to his travel. Her illness delayed their departure for several weeks, so the pro-Israel billionaire couple, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, flew them to Israel on a private jet, where then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted the couple on the tarmac.

“I did not imagine in my worst nightmares that I would lose Esther,” the Times of Israel quoted Pollard as saying on Jan. 31. “After decades of fighting for my release, I felt so helpless that I could not help her in her struggle for life.”

“I was saddened to hear of the passing of Esther Pollard, a woman whose devotion to, and love for, Jonathan Pollard became a symbol of strength, determination and faith,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement.

Main Photo: Esther Pollard, the wife of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, speaks during a press conference on a street in downtown Jerusalem, July 29, 2015. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)