Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard to remarry

Pollard, who spent 30 years in a U.S. prison for espionage, will wed Rivka Abrahams-Donin, a widow and mother of seven from the ultra-Orthodox Chabad community in Jerusalem.

Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison in the United States on charges of spying for Israel, and his fiancée Rivka Abrahams-Donin. Credit: Courtesy.
Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison in the United States on charges of spying for Israel, and his fiancée Rivka Abrahams-Donin. Credit: Courtesy.

Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison in the United States on charges of spying for Israel, is engaged to be married, local media reported on Wednesday.

Pollard will wed Rivka Abrahams-Donin, a widow and mother of seven from the ultra-Orthodox Chabad community in Jerusalem, in a ceremony that will reportedly take place in two month’s time.

Pollard’s former wife, Esther, whom he married while imprisoned, passed away earlier this year.

Pollard was arrested in 1985, convicted of espionage and sentenced two years later. He is the only U.S. citizen to ever receive a life sentence for spying for an ally and the only one to serve more than 10 years in jail for the crime.

Pollard was released on parole in 2015, eventually being permitted to move to Israel in December 2020.

“Having the Southern Poverty Law Center label you, a black woman, as an ‘apologist for white supremacy,’ it sort of makes you like kryptonite for any universities that would be looking to hire you,” Carol Swain told JNS.
“The United States expects all our allies, particularly those who have committed to supporting President Trump’s successful 20-Point Plan, to take decisive action against this meaningless political stunt,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
The agency’s Office of the Inspector General said the individuals, including three teachers, were referred to the U.S. State Department for possible debarment from U.S.-funded aid programs.
“A lot of people working without the certainty of pay working, previously, literally without pay. It’s a really big deal,” Rep. Brian Mast told JNS.
“Ambassador Mike Huckabee is a true hero and friend of the United States, the State of Israel, the Jewish people and all people,” said Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University
“Antisemitism is not an abstract concern,” stated Lana Theis, the Republican state senator who introduced the measure. “It’s happening here in Michigan, and it’s happening now.”