WASHINGTON — In July 2014, after Jonathan J. Pollard had served 29 years of a life sentence for spying on behalf of Israel, his hopes for freedom were thwarted when a federal panel denied his request for parole. 
 
 But that hearing set in motion an intense scramble by lawyers for Mr. Pollard to ensure a different result a year later, when he would be eligible for parole after serving 30 years. They wrote letters, cited statistics and introduced evidence that their client met two legal standards for parole: that he had behaved well in prison, and that he posed no threat of returning to a life of espionage. 
 
 On Tuesday, the effort finally succeeded, as the United States Parole Commission announced that Mr. Pollard, 60, met the legal standards and would be released just before Thanksgiving. 
 
 Mr. Pollard, one of the country’s most notorious spies, will walk out of federal prison in Butner, N.C., on Nov. 20. Eliot Lauer, one of the two lawyers who have been working pro bono for the past 15 years to free Mr. Pollard, called his client on Tuesday with the news. ||||| (CNN) Convicted spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard has been granted parole and will be released from an American jail on Nov. 21, his lawyer announced Tuesday. 
 
 Pollard's release -- exactly 30 years after his arrest -- could help ease the tensions between the United States and Israel that have grown over the Iran nuclear deal, which President Barack Obama supports and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes. Netanyahu has long sought Pollard's release, and the prospect has surfaced many times in discussions between the U.S. and Israel. 
 
 The White House has said it won't challenge the granting of parole for Pollard but denied his release was in any way connected to the Iran deal. 
 
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 "Mr. Pollard's status was determined by the United States Parole Commission according to standard procedures, and the Parole Commission's decision was in no way linked to foreign policy considerations," said National Security spokesman Alistair Baskey. "Mr. Pollard will serve his sentence as mandated by statute for the very serious crimes he committed The President has no intention of altering the terms of Mr. Pollard's parole." 
 
 Both the Justice Department and Pollard's pro bono attorneys, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, confirmed his release date Tuesday. 
 
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– After 30 years in prison, convicted spy Jonathan Pollard will indeed go free this year. His lawyers and officials with the Justice Department have confirmed the news, which surfaced last week, reports CNN. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst who got caught passing classified information to Israeli operatives, will go free when he becomes eligible for mandatory parole on Nov. 21. US officials could have objected to the parole and kept the 60-year-old in prison on national security grounds, explains the New York Times. "Mr. Pollard is looking forward to being reunited with his beloved wife Esther," says a statement issued by his lawyers. He "would like to thank the many thousands of well-wishers in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world, who provided grass roots support by attending rallies, sending letters, making phone calls to elected officials, and saying prayers for his welfare." US officials have denied that his release is any way linked to soothing Israel's anger over the Iran nuclear deal.