U.S. authorities have not allowed Jonathan Pollard, convicted of spying for Israel, to attend his father's funeral in the state of Indiana, despite appeals from Israeli officials.
Pollard, who is jailed in North Carolina, was absent from Monday's funeral for Morris Pollard, a prominent U.S. researcher on viral diseases who died Saturday at the age of 95. The service was held at a Jewish cemetery in the city of South Bend, Indiana.
Israeli officials and American-Jewish leaders asked the Obama administration to allow Pollard to attend the funeral. They also unsuccessfully lobbied for Pollard to be able to visit the ailing Morris Pollard in his final days.
U.S. officials made no public response to those appeals. Authorities arrested Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst, in 1985 and sentenced him to life in prison two years later for passing classified U.S. documents to Israel, a longtime ally.
Morris Pollard spent part of his last years seeking clemency for his son, who becomes eligible for parole in 2015.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
