The Jerusalem municipality will dim lights that illuminate the walls surrounding the old city on Tuesday evening, as a gesture of solidarity with convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, who has been incarcerated in the United States for almost a quarter-century.
Pollard was arrested in 1986 as he tried to seek asylum in the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He was convicted of espionage for Israel and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Aspart of Tuesday's event, a special message calling upon U.S. President Barack Obama to release Pollard will be projected onto the darkened city walls.
Dozens of Pollard supporters demonstrated earlier Tuesday under the Metarim Bridge for the second consecutive day, calling for his immediate release.
Since Pollard's conviction, the U.S. has steadfastly refused to shorten his sentence or grant him a pardon, despite requests by Israeli prime ministers, ministers, and MKs.
According to the official version of events, Israel immediately apologized to the U.S. after Pollard was arrested and claimed that a "rogue agency" had been behind the espionage activity. Since then, a decision was made in Israel that no espionage activities will be undertaken on U.S. soil.
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