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Israel welcomes former spy in U.S.

It took 35 years to get here.

An emotional moment for the former U.S. Navy analyst who served three decades in prison for spying for Israel.

Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther arrived in Tel Aviv to a welcome from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The leader saying a Hebrew prayer of thanksgiving for the liberation of prisoners.

Pollard had long voiced a desire to emigrate to Israel, which granted him citizenship.

The espionage affair was a rare strain on U.S.-Israel relations for decades.

"We are ecstatic, we're home at last after 35 years."

Pollard was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage, and was freed on parole in 2015.

Seen by some as a parting gift to Israel by the Trump administration the U.S. Justice Department let the parole terms' five-year travel ban go unrenewed last month.