Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a public appeal for the Obama administration to release Jonathan Pollard, an American who spied for Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu: “Mr. President, in the name of the nation of Israel, I request from you to pardon Jonathan Pollard, who at the time of his arrest was acting as an agent of the Israeli government. Even though Israel was in no way directing its intelligence efforts against the United States, its actions were wrong and wholly unacceptable. Both Mr. Pollard and the Israeli government have many times expressed regret over these actions. Israel will continue to abide by its commitment that such actions will never be repeated.”

In Washington, U.S. Department of State spokesperson P.J. Crowley said Netanyahu’s request would be reviewed.

P.J. Crowley: “We are reviewing the letter, full stop. You know, this is an issue that has come up, you know, from time to time in our discussions with Israeli leaders, this one and others, and we’ll review the letter.”