"The Whole Country Was Betrayed": Former Spy Jonathan Pollard Enters Politics, Blasts Netanyahu in Scathing Interview
Every party has blood on its hands": Convicted former spy launches a Knesset run born from the trauma of October 7, labeling Prime Minister Netanyahu an atheist "devoid of any fear of Heaven" and proposing a radical ultimatum to Egypt over Gaza.
Jonathan Pollard, the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst who served 30 years in an American prison for spying on behalf of Israel, has announced his entry into Israeli politics. In a dramatic, wide-ranging WhatsApp interview with N12’s Moshe Nussbaum, Pollard leveled fierce criticism against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, outlined an ultra-nationalist vision for the Gaza Strip, and explained the deep-seated disillusionment that drove him to form a new political party ahead of the country's upcoming Knesset elections.
Pollard revealed that his decision to run for office was born directly out of the trauma of the October 7, 2023 attacks. For years, he explained, he lived under the impression that the abandonment and betrayal he personally experienced by the Israeli political and intelligence establishment in 1985 was an isolated incident.
"Until October 7, I lived in the illusion that my betrayal was an exception," Pollard said. "But when I saw what happened on October 7, I realized that our entire country was betrayed by the political elites, on the left, the right, and the center. At that moment, I knew I had to do something to prevent another massacre. I refused to join any existing party because I believe every single one of them has the blood of our people on their hands."
A Bitter Rift with Netanyahu
The interview highlights a stark reversal in Pollard's relationship with Netanyahu. When Pollard's parole restrictions expired and he immigrated to Israel in late 2020, Netanyahu personally greeted him and his late wife on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport.
Today, Pollard describes the Prime Minister as a "clear and immediate danger" to Israel's national security.
"The closer I got to him and his policies, the more I gradually realized who he is," Pollard stated. While acknowledging that responsibility for the systemic failures leading to October 7 is shared across the military, intelligence agencies, and the media, Pollard laid heavy blame on Netanyahu’s leadership style and his past strategy of allowing Qatari cash into Gaza. "Bibi only listens to those who echo his own opinions. Seeing that with my own eyes both frightened and disgusted me."
Pollard went further, attacking Netanyahu's personal character. "He puts on tefillin, wears a kippah, and claims to be 'religious'—but he is lying. He is an atheist devoid of any fear of Heaven. I fundamentally do not trust a man whose only fear is a bad political poll."
When asked if he remains grateful to Netanyahu for securing his release, Pollard replied sharply: "Am I grateful? Of course. But he could have done much more... Saving an agent was, to Bibi, just another item in his wardrobe, a garment he changes when he feels like it. Yes, he welcomed me at the airport. But just as easily, he could have welcomed my coffin. I want him to retire. He has done enough damage."
Stance on Gaza and Global Relations
Pollard’s newly formed party will campaign on a platform of right-wing unity, strict military draft reforms, including forcing the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) sector into mandatory national service, and the immediate application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and Gaza.
Addressing his plan for the Palestinian population, Pollard openly called for the forced relocation of Gazans. He suggested presenting neighboring Egypt with a stark ultimatum regarding the border.
"The only way we can make this happen is to tell Egypt they have two choices: either voluntarily open the border between them and Gaza to resettle Gazans in camps in the Sinai, or we will open their border in any way we see fit," Pollard said. Rejecting the label of an extremist, he argued: "You can call my idea 'extreme,' or you can look closely at what these people did to our men, women, and children on October 7 and say 'never again.' We simply cannot continue to live alongside them."
Pollard also dismissed concerns that his hardline positions would fracture Israel's diplomatic standing with Washington, offering a grim view of foreign relations. He described prospective U.S. President Donald Trump as an "unpredictable madman who doesn't know what he's doing," and argued that Netanyahu’s diplomatic success with Trump relied on "playing the role of his doormat."
"We have only one true ally, God," Pollard concluded. "We need to remind people like Trump, and perhaps the Europeans as well, that we are a nuclear power that can act unilaterally if we have to."
High-Profile Backers
Pollard revealed that his political movement is already drawing figures connected to the national tragedy. Among the candidates joining his list is Nitsan Louk, the father of Shani Louk, the 22-year-old German-Israeli woman whose murder at the Nova music festival on October 7 and subsequent abduction to Gaza became one of the defining, tragic images of the attack. Pollard indicated that more well-known public figures will be announced in the coming days.