Tamar Fogel meets Jonathan Pollard

Daughter of Itamar massacre victims visits convicted spy, who recently lost father, in US jail

Aviel Magnezi |Published: 06.26.11 , 22:06

Tamar Fogel, who lost her parents and three siblings in the Itamar massacre, met with convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard days after the death of his father. The visit was scheduled before 95-year old Morris Pollard died.

Accompanying Tamar were her grandfather, Rabbi Yehuda Ben Yishai, and aunt Hodaya. The contact between the two was first made when Pollard conveyed his condolences to the Fogel family through his wife, Tamar's uncle Yohai Ben Yishai told Ynet.

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As Pollard could not personally console the family, Tamar and her relatives decided to go to him. "And then Morris Pollard died, and my father who went to be consoled became the consoler," Ben Yishai noted.

Pollard did not have a chance to say goodbye to his father, who died at an Indiana hospital earlier this month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to allow him to visit his father was not met in time, nor did his request to attend the funeral.

Ben Yishai said that Pollard welcomed the visit. "A very strong bond was created between my father and Jonathan. My father told me that Jonathan tried to 'put on a brave face' and inquire after our family's wellbeing despite his obvious suffering over his own loss."

He noted that Tamar's presence in the meeting was unusual. "As far as I know this is the first time they allow a visit by a person under the age of 18. All these hard stories of the Jewish people connect in a way that intensifies them," he said.