Jonathan Pollard, a United States Navy intelligence officer who was accused and convicted of spying for Israel, was released from prison on Friday after serving 30 years of a life sentence. Pollard had been in prison in North Carolina since 1985. The Obama administration has said it will not allow him to leave the country and go to Israel as he has continuously requested.

Pollard’s imprisonment has been a long and serious bone of contention between the U.S. and Israel for the past 30 years. Pollard was convicted of passing on classified and secret information to Israeli spies while he was an intelligence analyst for the Navy, reports The New York Times.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that he was extremely pleased with Pollard’s release and he had always been hopeful of his eventual release. Netanyahu hopes Pollard will be allowed to return to his family as soon as possible. A federal government parole waiver would be necessary by law for Pollard to be allowed to leave the country and go to Israel. Earlier this month, Netanyahu made a personal plea to President Obama for that to happen. Obama has yet to respond to Netanyahu’s plea.

Pollard was immediately met by his wife in an embrace that was the first for the couple in over three decades. Two Democrat politicians from Congress have petitioned the U.S. Attorney General on behalf of allowing Pollard to renounce his citizenship and go to live in Israel. The Obama administration stated that the president has no intention of interfering with the current parole conditions for Pollard.

The Justice Department has also claimed that it will not interfere in the matter of parole. The Justice Department stated that, even though Pollard has served 30 years in prison, “they don’t want to make it look like we’re being too lenient.”