Jonathan Pollard Says He Met U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee to Thank Him; Meeting Prompts Bipartisan Scrutiny

Convicted former U.S. intelligence analyst Jonathan J. Pollard said a private July meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem with Ambassador Mike Huckabee was a personal visit to thank the ambassador for advocating on his behalf during Pollard's long imprisonment.

What Pollard says happened

Pollard, who served 30 years in prison after being convicted in the 1980s of passing classified material to Israeli intelligence, said the encounter was arranged by phone and was not secretive. "The main point was to thank him for his efforts on my behalf during my incarceration," Pollard said, calling the visit "intensely personal" and insisting that politics and the Gaza conflict were not discussed.

Official response and diplomacy concerns

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem pushed back on some reporting about the visit, saying the ambassador meets with many people and, as a matter of policy, it does not comment on the content of conversations. The embassy declined to provide further details or a statement from the ambassador.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House had not been informed of the meeting but added that the president "stands by our ambassador."

Why the meeting drew scrutiny

Pollard's espionage conviction and three decades behind bars strained relations between the United States and Israel in the past. His long imprisonment and subsequent move to Israel after being granted citizenship there make any encounter with a U.S. ambassador politically sensitive. Critics from across the political spectrum questioned Ambassador Huckabee's judgment in meeting with a convicted spy.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Huckabee should not have met with "a convicted traitor." Former television host Tucker Carlson called Huckabee's conduct "shocking behavior from a United States ambassador."

Context: Ambassador Huckabee's prior statements

Observers noted the meeting occurred amid a pattern of remarks and interviews in which Huckabee, a two-time presidential candidate and former governor, has expressed views that some see as diverging from official U.S. policy. Earlier this year he publicly questioned the pursuit of Palestinian statehood and used the term "Judea and Samaria" to refer to the West Bank. He also told reporters in recent months that the U.S. would not stop Israel from annexing parts of the occupied West Bank — a claim later countered by senior administration officials.

In an interview conducted before the meeting became public, Huckabee described his role as implementing U.S. policy rather than creating it: "I don't get to make the policy. I simply carry it out as an ambassador," he said.

Looking ahead

Officials and commentators continue to debate whether private meetings of this nature require prior notification to the White House or additional diplomatic oversight. For now, both Pollard and Huckabee characterize the visit as personal and limited in scope, while critics say the encounter risks undermining diplomatic norms and raising questions about adherence to official U.S. positions in a sensitive region.