Charming correspondence. Israeli President Isaac Herzog received a letter from US President Donald Trump urging him to consider granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the presidential office said on Wednesday (12 November).
“While I have great respect for the independence of the Israeli judiciary and its demands, I believe that the “case” against Bibi, with whom I have long fought, including against Israel’s formidable enemy, Iran, is an unjustified political prosecution,” wrote the president in his letter with a perfect art of preterition, a figure of speech consisting of doing what one is not yet sure one will not do.
This is not Trump’s first attempt to interfere in Israeli affairs: in his speech on the podium of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) on October 13, he directly challenged his Israeli counterpart: “I have an idea. Mr. President, why not grant him a pardon? This part was not planned in his speech (…) but I like this man (…). Like him or not, he is one of the greatest presidents (Benyamin Netanyahu is Prime Minister, editor’s note) in times of war.”
The support of Donald Trump, the architect of the ceasefire agreement in effect on October 10, cannot harm the Israeli leader. To postpone his trial which opened in 2020, Benjamin Netanyahu sometimes mentioned Covid, the war in Gaza or Iran, his health condition, and did not hesitate to put pressure on the judge. The Prime Minister and his wife were accused of “corruption, fraud and breach of trust”: they were said to have accepted lavish gifts including travel, jewelery and even concert tickets from billionaires, including Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan (Beautiful Women, Fight Club).
All this amounted to one million shekels (approximately 230,000 euros), and this was in return for a tax reward and assistance in obtaining an American visa. Netanyahu’s family has not denied the existence of the gift, but has assured that it is simply proof of friendship between relatives – and has officially ruled out the possibility of stepping down.
In another attempt to avoid prosecution, Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to implement hotly contested justice reforms in 2023. This bill, explained by legal expert David Khafla in Release like a “institutional coup”, has resulted in unprecedented mobilization in Israel; his flagship measures were ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court. Perhaps Trump’s endorsement would benefit him more.
