JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially requested a presidential pardon from Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday. The request is unprecedented, and if granted, would end one of the longest trials in Israel’s history.
President Herzog’s office called it an “extraordinary request,” carrying “significant implications.”
While the prime minister is charged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three separate cases, he has not yet been convicted of anything.
During an address to the nation, Netanyahu did not admit guilt and explained his request.
He declared, “Citizens of Israel, nearly a decade has passed since the investigations against me began. The trial has been ongoing for close to six years, and it is expected to continue for many more years.”
He added, “As the exonerating evidence and testimonies that completely dismantle the false claims against me are revealed in court, and as it becomes clear that the evidentiary basis against me was formed through the commission of serious offenses, my personal interest has been and remains to continue the process to its conclusion, until full acquittal on all charges. However, the security and diplomatic reality, the national interest, demand otherwise.”
Recently, the judges in his case decided Netanyahu would be required to testify three times a week. He called that a tipping point – an impossible demand – and contended that a pardon would help unify the country in the face of multiple threats against the Jewish state.
“The State of Israel faces immense challenges alongside tremendous opportunities. To fend off the threats and to realize the opportunities, national unity is required,” Netanyahu stated. “The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division, and deepens rifts. I am sure, like many others in the nation, that an immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.”
The prime minister’s request comes weeks after President Donald Trump urged Herzog to pardon Netanyahu. Trump even directly suggested the idea when he spoke to the Israeli Knesset, saying, “I have an idea, Mr. President: why don’t you give him a pardon? Give him a pardon.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid asked Herzog to reject Netanyahu’s appeal.
“I call on President Herzog: You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate retirement from political life,” Lapid said in a video statement released on Sunday.
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Public opinion is mixed.
“I think that Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) should be granted a pardon in order to end this lengthy trial that’s been going on for so many years, and will continue for years,” said Kiryat Malachi resident David Hasson.
Ami Hannan from Jerusalem noted, “I think he (Netanyahu) is a bit late with this request, because it should have been done a long time ago. He is being pursued (legally), and he has so many problems in the country, so this will probably solve all the problems.”
Meanwhile, in Ireland, Prime Minister Micheal Martin is opposing the decision by the Dublin City Council to rename Herzog Park. He called it a “denial of history” and said it would be seen as “anti-Semitic.” Herzog Park was named after Chaim Herzog, the father of Israel’s current president. Suggested alternative names include “Free Palestine Park.”
