The time has come for President Isaac Herzog to exercise the full moral and constitutional authority of his office and pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The years-long legal campaign against Israel’s longest-serving and most consequential leader has descended into a grotesque political spectacle-a weaponization of the judiciary by the “Deep State” that has sought, through the courts, to accomplish what it could not at the ballot box.
In this moment of great peril and promise for Israel, President Donald Trump urging Herzog to pardon Netanyahu is not merely a gesture of friendship to another leader; it is a moral imperative and a strategic necessity.
Yes, many Israelis are justified in believing that the US president should not interfere with Israel's internal affairs. That aside, Trump’s appeal was both heartfelt and historically grounded-a reminder that the prime minister who stood as the steadfast bulwark of Israel’s security is being persecuted for what amounts to trivialities dressed up as crimes.
Let us be absolutely clear about what is happening here. The accusations facing Netanyahu in Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000 do not constitute corruption on any rational or moral plane. They represent, rather, the politicization of Israel’s judicial system by entrenched bureaucrats, prosecutors, and media elites who despise Netanyahu precisely because he does not share their “progressive,” globalist, and woke ideological worldview.
Case 1000 alleges that Netanyahu and his wife accepted gifts-cigars, champagne, and jewelry-from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer, valued at roughly $260,000. The prosecution absurdly claims that these were “bribes” intended to secure favorable treatment, including visa assistance and tax exemptions. In reality, these were personal gifts between longtime acquaintances-gestures of friendship and esteem, as are common among world leaders. To portray a few boxes of cigars as evidence of systemic corruption is to trivialize both justice and logic.
In Case 2000, Netanyahu stands accused of merely discussing with the publisher of Yediot Ahronot the possibility of balanced coverage in exchange for fair treatment of a rival publication. The irony here is staggering: the Israeli media, dominated by leftist editors and journalists, routinely colludes with political figures to shape narratives. Yet when Netanyahu allegedly may have sought to level the playing field against an openly hostile press, it became a “criminal conspiracy.” And, of course, the newspaper's coverage of Netanyahu is routinely negative.
Case 4000, perhaps the most farcical of all, alleges that Netanyahu provided regulatory benefits to the telecom firm Bezeq in exchange for positive news stories on its subsidiary, Walla. Again, the “evidence” boils down to editorial tone-subjective judgments about whether Walla’s coverage was too friendly to Netanyahu. The notion that a head of state can be criminally prosecuted for the tone of online reporting borders on madness.
As President Trump rightly stated in his letter, this is a “political, unjustified prosecution”-a transparent attempt by Israel’s entrenched legal bureaucracy to destroy a conservative leader whose power derives from popular legitimacy rather than elite approval.
This judicial campaign cannot be viewed in isolation. It is part of a broader pattern-a sustained assault by Israel’s progressive establishment against those who dare to challenge its ideological monopoly. The “Deep State” in Israel operates much like its counterpart in the United States: an unelected alliance of bureaucrats, media operatives, and judicial elites who wield the instruments of government not in service of democracy, but in defense of their own ideological orthodoxy.
In Israel this establishment has turned the courts into political battlegrounds. It punishes dissent and prosecutes patriotism. Anyone who dares to challenge its dogmas on national security, sovereignty, or Jewish identity risks public vilification-or worse, prosecution.
Netanyahu’s real crime was not accepting cigars; it was refusing to bow to the progressive secular elite that views Jewish nationalism as an anachronism and Israeli strength as an embarrassment. He was targeted because he built an Israel that is unapologetically strong, religiously rooted, and geopolitically independent.
This same establishment once demonized Menachem Begin, reviled Ariel Sharon, and ridiculed Yitzhak Shamir. But Netanyahu’s case represents something darker-a judicial coup masquerading as due process. It is designed not merely to remove him from office, but to criminalize conservative governance itself.
In his letter to President Herzog, President Trump delivered a message that transcends politics-it was a defense of leadership, loyalty, and legacy. “Benjamin Netanyahu has been a formidable and decisive wartime Prime Minister,” Trump wrote, “and is now leading Israel into a time of peace.”
Trump framed the prosecution as a betrayal of Israel’s moral compass. “While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli justice system,” Trump said, “I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi… is a political, unjustified prosecution.”
Those words cut to the core of the matter. A nation cannot pursue peace abroad while waging political warfare against its own defenders at home. Netanyahu stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump in confronting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, in brokering the Abraham Accords, and in reshaping the Middle East into a region of cooperation rather than conflict. He is a wartime and peacetime leader whose steadfastness has saved countless Israeli lives.
To prosecute such a man over cigars and champagne is beyond appalling-it is a national humiliation.
President Herzog must now decide whether he will be remembered as a statesman or a bystander. The President’s office diplomatically acknowledged Trump’s appeal while citing procedural formalities. But this is no time for bureaucratic caution. The moment demands moral clarity.
Herzog’s duty is not merely to uphold procedure but to preserve the integrity of the Israeli state. The endless trials have already eroded public faith in the judiciary, divided the nation, and distracted its leadership during a time of existential threats. To allow this political theater to continue is to hand victory to those who despise Israel’s democratic resilience.
A pardon would not signal weakness-it would signify wisdom. It would reaffirm that Israel’s democracy is not the property of its bureaucrats, but the inheritance of its people. And it would allow Netanyahu to govern free from the shackles of judicial harassment, focusing instead on securing Israel’s future, rebuilding alliances, and continuing the historic peace that began under his and Trump’s stewardship.
Israel today faces immense challenges: Hamas aggression, Iranian expansionism, and rising antisemitism abroad. It cannot afford internal sabotage by those who mistake ideological puritanism for justice. The case of the Military Advocate General's alleged sabotage of IDF soldiers is a case in point.
A pardon would serve not only as an act of mercy but as an act of national healing. It would send a message to Israelis-and to the world-that the Jewish state will not allow its greatest leaders to be dragged through the mud by political zealots masquerading as jurists.
It is time to end the farce. It is time to reject the witch hunt.
For the sake of Israel’s democracy, its dignity, and its destiny, President Herzog must pardon Prime Minister Netanyahu now. The future of Israel’s unity-and the moral soul of its justice system-depends on it.