Esther Pollard, née Elaine Zeitz (Hebrew name: Esther Yocheved), was the second wife of Jonathan Pollard and a Canadian schoolteacher turned dedicated activist. Born in Montreal, Canada, she grew up in the Jewish community, spending time in Chomedey, Laval (a Montreal suburb), and later Toronto's vibrant Jewish neighborhood on Shelbourne Avenue. As a teenager, she participated in an Israeli youth program in 1971, where she first met Jonathan Pollard, bonding over their shared love for Israel. By her mid-20s, she had been married and divorced once. She studied English literature, pursuing a master's degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1976–1977 while attending ulpan. Returning to Canada, she worked as a teacher and volunteered extensively in Jewish causes. Formerly known as Elaine Zeitz, she married Jonathan Pollard in 1993 while he was imprisoned in the U.S. for espionage. As chair of the Canadian chapter of Citizens for Justice for Jonathan Pollard, she organized protests and advocacy, later assuming leadership of the global movement after their marriage. She staged a hunger strike in 1996, addressed Jewish groups, and lobbied Israeli and U.S. leaders, criticizing Jewish establishments for abandoning Pollard and highlighting disparities in spy sentencing. 'We’re very religious people,' she said in a 2006 interview. 'And we understand that ultimately, the only one who was going to set Jonathan free is God Himself... What He is waiting for is for men to be his partner in doing the right thing.' Esther made aliyah to Israel in 2005, living modestly in Jerusalem on a small teacher's pension and donations. She continued her advocacy until Jonathan's parole in 2015 and their arrival in Israel in late 2020. Diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer around 2019, she battled it while supporting him. She died on January 31, 2022, at age 68 from COVID-19 complications and septic shock at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem, with thousands attending her funeral at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery.