Israeli Citizenship for Convicted Spy

JERUSALEM — Israel will grant citizenship today to Jonathan Pollard, the American Jew serving a life sentence in the United States for spying for the Jewish state.

Pollard was arrested outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington in 1985 and convicted of espionage in 1986. He admitted giving Israel information on its Arab enemies.

Pollard sought Israeli citizenship in the hope it would bolster any Israeli request for clemency. But U.S. officials have said Israeli citizenship would not affect Pollard's case.