Significant Figures from Across Israel All Pay Their  Respects at the Funeral of Esther Pollard, A’H

By: INN

At the funeral of the late Esther Pollard, many came to say goodbye to her, including Moshe Leon, the mayor of Jerusalem.

He said that this is truly a sad time: She was a true heroine, for her fight for Jonathan. As mayor, I was privileged enough for her to come and live out her last years here in the city of Jerusalem.”

Boaz Bismuth, editor of Israel Hayom, says that he came to pay his last respects to “true righteousness”. “It was a huge privilege to know her, it was a huge privilege to be there when they came to Israel and I am sad for Jonathan, they had so many plans to be here with the people of Israel in the State of Israel and it is a tragic end that came too soon. I am sad today.”

Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of Shurat HaDin Law Center, adds: “Esther was a warrior, she was a lioness. With stubbornness and endless devotion she fought for Jonathan and fought against her illness. She won in regards to Jonathan but unfortunately lost the battle against the disease.”

Former Secretary of State Tzahi Braverman says he trained the team that was in charge of the Pollards’ absorption in the country. “I had the privilege of being the first, along with Prime Minister Netanyahu, to receive them at the airport. Finally, after 35 years, we were able to bring them here. Esther was a very determined woman, clinging to her goals. She was a true partner to Jonathan, and it greatly saddens me that only a year after she arrived in Israel, she passed away. ”

Former Knesset member Moti Yogev recognized the special faith of Esther who fought for years for her husband and it is thanks to her he was able to come to the Land of Israel. “We are here to lay to rest a great woman.”

Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, the grandson of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, said: “Dear Esther would come to my grandfather for hours on end. You have to be a very special person to stand against such great forces and say that they will release this person. How much willpower and strength it takes to look the future in the eye and say that I create reality and not just react. ”

“When I heard about her death I thought of my grandfather, of us as rabbis, how many times people come to us and it seems difficult for us to implement their unrealistic idea, and how a grandfather who hears that there is a person sentenced to 35 years in prison and the State of Israel denies the cause, what strength and faith are needed to support her. This is the main thing we take from this family. There is no one to say Kaddish for them and we ask people to say Kaddish for Esther. We are all their children.”

The Chairman of Eretz Hakodesh at the World Zionist Congress, Rabbi Pesach Lerner, who served as the rabbi of the Pollards and accompanied them for thirty years, offered his condolences to Jonathan Pollard Monday morning, following the passing of his wife, Esther Pollard.

“The heart of us all is broken at the bitter news. Jonathan found a special woman. A woman who dedicated her life for Jonathan. She dedicated her life literally: her health, her career and her personal development for Jonathan.

“I can say with certainty that Jonathan is alive today only thanks to the love and support Esther has given him. Jonathan is free today thanks to the relentless efforts that Esther has devoted to him. This is a real soldier’s wife.”

“She did this out of an unusual mission and faith in Gd. We pray to Hashem to give Jonathan strength to continue I call on the people of Israel to come and support him in this difficult time at the funeral and in comforting him.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett released a brief statement Monday eulogizing Esther Pollard.

“I was saddened to hear of the death of Esther Pollard, a woman whose sacrifice and love for Jonathan Pollard turned into a symbol of strength, determination, and faith. May her memory be blessed.”

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked tweeted her condolences Monday morning, writing: “Dear Jonathan, I share your pain over Esther’s death. She was so important to you, your entire world.”

Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, cofounders of the Sovereignty Movement, called Esther Pollard a “woman of steel”.

“Our dear friend Esther Pollard, the woman of steel, has left us. Esther was an exemplary personality, who persisted to the end in achieving her goals.”

“Nothing could divert her even one millimeter from the path of freeing Jonathan from prison for the “sin” of loving the Land of Israel.”

“Despite the physical distance between them, Esther and Jonathan were one body and soul, joined by their great love for, and devotion to, the Land of Israel, without fear and without apprehension. Esther knocked on the doors of world leaders, never resting for a moment.”

“When she was not traveling, she was organizing moving prayer vigils throughout the Land. With her devotion, Esther succeeded in gaining a free and happy Jonathan here in the land of his forefathers, on whose behalf he sacrificed for more than thirty years. They were together in this mission that united them, a mission that will remain in the nation’s memory forever. May her memory be inscribed forever in the annals of the Jewish people.”

            (IsraelNationalNews.com)