Israelis Seek Pardon for Pollard

Seventy Israeli legislators reportedly presented a petition to the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv today asking President Reagan to pardon convicted spy Jonathan J. Pollard.

The petition, handed to U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, was signed by most members of the right-wing Likud Bloc in the Israeli Parliament and by the left-wing Mapam faction. Pollard, a civilian Navy intelligence analyst, was convicted last year of selling secrets to Israel and sentenced to life in prison. The Israeli government was severely embarrassed by Pollard’s arrest outside its Washington embassy in 1985 and insisted it had not authorized the spying operation. Public pressure, however, forced the government to foot the bill for some of Pollard’s legal fees.