The ankle monitor fitted on the minor; Photo courtesy of the photographer
Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 16:08 Today (Wednesday), Jonathan Pollard shared a scathing video (see below) strongly opposing the use of electronic ankle monitors for Jewish Yehuda and Shomron residents and hilltop youth. His video follows a precedential incident that occurred earlier this week: For the first time, the GOC of the Central Command, Major-General Avi Bluth, signed on an administrative order requiring a Shomron resident to wear an electronic ankle monitor tracking his movements.
Transcription of Pollard’s video:
“This is Jonathan Pollard. I’ve just been informed that the police are going to be putting ankle bracelets on hilltop youth. This brought back very bad memories for me, as I had to wear such a device for five years when I was on parole in New York. I find this tactic to be obscene and unacceptable.
I’d like to ask a simple question. How many of the Israeli anarchists who routinely disrupt life in the territories and threaten our soldiers – how many of them wear ankle bracelets? And I’ll tell you right now how many. I’ll answer that question. None. How many of the Arab terrorists that were just released as part of the hostage negotiations, the hostage exchange, how many of them are wearing ankle bracelets? And I’ll answer that also. None. But it’s appropriate for our hilltop youth, our vanguard in the territories, to wear ankle bracelets?
This is my suggestion to the police, the security services, and most importantly, the army. Why don’t you just eliminate the terror problems in the territories, and maybe we won’t have vigilante actions being carried out by any number of people to defend our lives, and our communities, and our farms in the territories? Why don’t you do that, rather than putting ankle bracelets on our people? Why don’t you go take care of the problem that’s causing the people to fight back on their own against a terrorist threat that the government, and the army, and COGAT, and the security services, and the police either are unwilling or are unable to defeat. So rather that put ankle bracelets on our people, why don’t you just take care of the problem? Get them all out. Send them to their Salafi paradise in Syria, and we won’t need ankle bracelets, or have to go to levayas [funerals] anymore. Thank you.”
Honenu Attorneys Asaf Gonen, Moshe Poleski, and Nati Rom are representing the minor from the Shomron who is wearing an ankle monitor and another Shomron resident who refused to be fitted with one. The attorneys issued a statement: “The decision to place electronic monitors on Yehuda and Shomron residents is reprehensible. They are being taken without criminal proceedings and fitted with a device that tracks them. They are deprived of their freedom. Their fundamental rights and privacy are violated. This is a draconian and undemocratic step reminiscent of dark regimes that track their citizens.
“Major-General Bluth renewed a heavy-handed practice that is contrary to the principle of human rights in Israel. Tracking and monitoring an individual who has not been tried in a court of law is an insane policy reminiscent of dark regimes. Instead of waging an all-out war on the Arab terror raging in Yehuda and Shomron, the law enforcement authorities are persecuting youths dedicated to the Land of Israel. This is a disgrace. We hope that the Supreme Court will cancel the order, and it would be best to do it promptly.”
The video that Jonathan Pollard shared