Since 1987, Jonathan Pollard has been locked up in U.S. prison. Pollard is an American citizen who was convicted of spying for Israel in 1987, receiving a life sentence. Pollard is the only U.S. citizen to receive a sentence of more than ten years for spying for an ally, and Israeli officials have been calling for his release for many years. The sentence was unreasonable, and releasing Pollard when he becomes eligible for parole in 2015 would help U.S. relations with Israel, one of our most important allies, especially in the Middle East.

Israel has strong feelings about this issue, and releasing him would certainly help aid relations with them and give us more influence over affairs in the Middle East.

According to Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary, in a CNN article, “The Israelis frequently raise this issue, and they have raised this issue in our discussions.” This is a frequent topic of conversation, and Israel feels strongly about it.

Negotiating Pollard’s release could be a valuable bargaining chip for use in any future talks with Israel, and the U.S. would be foolish to pass up this opportunity that costs them little, but stands to strengthen political and diplomatic standings with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Pollard’s release for many years, and recently has said that if Pollard is released, Israel will speed up peace talks with Palastine, which ” have a soft April 29 deadline to be completed” according to the Wall Street Journal. Israeli peace with Palestine is in the United States’, and the region’s best interests, so any deal that could aid talks should be taken seriously.

Israeli peace with Palestine will mean a much more stable Middle East, and this would be in the best interests for U.S. trade, and cool down tensions and fighting between the Palestine and Israel. These possible benefits far outweigh the costs of releasing Pollard.

Many people in the United States do not believe that Pollard should be released, as he is convicted of spying by the Espionage Act, and did receive a life sentence. The life sentence however, was unreasonable in the first place. Pollard is the only person ever convicted of spying for an ally to receive a life sentence in United States history, and most people convicted of this crime only receive punishments of 10 years or less, which Pollard has served 3 times already.

He has already served much longer than he should, and the United States does not have the right to be surprised or offended by allies spying on them after revelations about the NSA and phone tapping of foreign officials, of which Israel is most likely included.

Although talks of Pollard’s release this April, specifically before the Jewish holiday of passover have not panned out, a release of Pollard when he becomes eligible for parole in 2015 would be beneficial to United States foreign relations and help strengthen our political presence in Israel for relatively little loss.