The first wife of Jonathan Pollard is contesting a seat on the Ramat Gan Municipal Council.
By GREER FAY CASHMANPollard Seder 370(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
SOF HASHAVUA, a sister publication to The Jerusalem Post, last Friday published an interesting item concerning municipal elections. It seems that Anne Pollard, the first wife of convicted Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, who has spent much more time in prison than anyone else convicted of a similar crime in the US, is contesting a seat on the Ramat Gan Municipal Council.Anne Pollard was charged with being an accessory to her husband’s crime, which was passing classified information to Israel on matters related to Israel’s security. She did jail time, became very ill in prison and was released on parole after serving 40 months of a five-year sentence. She had thought to help her husband once she was free, but he served her with divorce papers, having been counseled that he would have a better chance of securing his own freedom without her. They have not been in contact since, though she still has a soft spot for him, wishes him well and hopes that he will sooner rather than later realize his dream of coming to Israel.Anne Pollard immigrated to Israel in 1991, and was instantly snapped up by Israel’s social elite. Her name appeared on numerous VIP guest lists and in the social columns of the Hebrew press. But things didn’t work out at the time and she returned to the US, where she worked with various Jewish organizations.She returned to Israel three years ago, and this time is determined to stay. As a resident of Ramat Gan, she is eligible to stand for election, and has joined the Achshav (Now) list of municipal council chairman Arik Goldman.HABIMAH THEATER has gone through many changes over the years, including a recent remodeling of its building, which has resulted in many more out-of-town visitors to the premises for conferences and special events during the day, or for specific theatrical performances at night. An added attraction was launched last week with the official opening of the Habimah archives, the labor of love of Hanni Zeligson. She was appointed secretary of Israel’s national theater in 1978 and stayed at her post for 35 years, meticulously collecting material on every production – such as texts, photographs and review clippings – in her free time. She started to catalogue them and include material previously collected by one of Habimah’s veteran employees, Yaakov Rafael.Two years ago, Habimah launched a major portion of its archives on its website, including DVDs of previously filmed productions. Transfer to DVD format was facilitated by a generous donation from theater buffs Edna and Arnan Gabrieli. The physical archives, which now include files of 670 productions from 1918 onward, are open to the public once a week, but will be opened more frequently at some time in the not-too-distant future. Of all of Israel’s theaters, Habimah has the most comprehensive archives.Habimah was founded as a Hebrew-language theater in Moscow in 1917.In 1926, during a tour abroad, the company split up, with some of the actors remaining in the US and others deciding to make their new home in Tel Aviv.Among the latter was the famous Hanna Rovina, who appeared the first Habimah production in Moscow and became queen of the Israeli stage, receiving an Israel Prize for theater in 1956. She continued performing until her death in 1980.
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