NEW YORK (JTA) — A report that an employer rescinded a job offer to released spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard over the conditions of his parole is incorrect, his lawyers said.
According to The Jerusalem Post, an unnamed “respected” investment firm officially revoked its offer of a research analyst’s position on Monday, saying the conditions would have interfered with his ability to do the required work.
Pollard’s lawyers, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, on Wednesday contacted JTA through a spokesman to report that The Jerusalem Post’s report was incorrect and that the offer still stood.
Attorneys for Pollard, who was freed Friday after spending 30 years in a federal prison, filed an appeal Friday asking that the parole conditions, including wearing an electronic ankle bracelet with GPS tracking and surveillance of his and any employer’s computers, be dropped. The attorneys described the conditions as “unlawful” and said they would make it impossible for Pollard to have a job.
Pollard, 61, is also confined to his New York home between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Lauer said Sunday night at a Zionist Organization of America event in New York that the conditions mean Pollard is “still not free,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
“The parole commission’s unnecessary conditions make it virtually impossible for him to obtain a normal job in New York City,” Lauer said. “The employer who offered him work took back the offer because federal authorities asked to install monitoring devices in the company’s computer system if it employed him.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated incorrectly that Pollard’s job offer was rescinded. His lawyers say the job offer still stands.
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