Former U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard is launching a new political party in Israel following his 30-year prison stint.

Trust is a hard thing to earn back once it has been broken by a secret deal. Now, a man who spent half his life in a cell for betraying his home is asking a new country to put him in charge.

Jonathan Pollard was a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy. In the 1980s, he was caught giving suitcases full of secret documents to Israel. He was sent to prison for life in 1987.

After 30 years behind bars and five years on parole, he moved to Israel in 2020. Now 71 years old, he says he is ready to help lead the country. He is starting a new political group with the father of a young woman killed in the October 7 attacks.

Pollard says he is running because he feels the current leaders failed the people. He wants Israel to stop relying on other countries for weapons. He also wants to move all current residents out of Gaza and have Israelis live there instead.

What the evidence shows

1985: The year Pollard was arrested in D.C. after trying to hide in the Israeli embassy.

• 30 years: The total time he spent in U.S. federal prison.
• 1,000s: The number of top-secret papers he admitted to stealing.
• 2026: The year he plans to run for a seat in Israel’s parliament.
• 10 steps: The number of points in his plan to change the military.

Can a person who was once a "mole" ever be a trusted leader? Pollard says he spied because he loved Israel, but his actions caused a huge fight between the U.S. and Israel for decades. Voters have to decide if his past makes him a hero or someone who shouldn't be near secrets again.

Critics and some law experts say Pollard is a criminal who should not be in power. They worry his plans to move people out of Gaza would break international law and start more wars. Pollard says he is sorry for how he acted in the past, but he insists his ideas are the only way to keep the country safe now. This argument is seen as very risky by most world leaders.

Pollard is busy meeting with voters and building his new party. If he wins a seat, it could change how Israel talks to the United States. It might also make the current government more divided during a very tense time.

WHAT WE STILL DON'T KNOW

Will the Israeli government allow a convicted spy to hold high office?

• How will the U.S. government react if their former prisoner becomes a leader?
• Do enough people actually support his plan to move residents out of Gaza?

Information from court records, Channel 13 News, and the Times of Israel. All charges from his 1985 case were settled by a guilty plea. Jonathan Pollard served his full sentence and is presumed innocent of any new claims.