Netanyahu pardon request: Heritage Minister Eliyahu submits opinion paper to President Herzog

As part of the ongoing petition to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his criminal trial, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu submitted a position paper to President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday morning.

Minister Eliyahu was acting in place of Justice Minister and Likud member, Yariv Levin, who normally submits such a paper, but declined to do so due to a potential conflict of interest. 

President Herzog’s office put out a statement thanking Minister Eliyahu, while stating that the president will not be swayed by external pressure “from any direction” in making his decision. This is an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to achieve a pardon for Netanyahu. President Trump has harshly criticized President Herzog for failing to grant a pardon for Netanyahu. 

Trump even claimed that Herzog told him a pardon was “on its way,” a claim which Herzog’s office quickly denied. 

“Any attempt to influence the president’s decision-making process in any way, from any direction, will not affect the president’s judgment and will not change a thing. The president will act solely in accordance with the law, his conscience, and the good of the country,” Herzog’s office said. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has pressured Herzog to grant Netanyahu’s request, speaking out harshly against the Israeli president for failing to accede to his repeated demands that he issue a pardon.

While Minister Eliyahu has not disclosed his exact position in public, he is reported to favor Prime Minister Netanyahu’s pardon request. The minister commented on the issue in several recent posts on social media. 

On Friday, Minister Eliyahu wrote to 𝕏 that he was almost ready to submit his position to President Herzog. 

“I studied relevant court rulings and legal materials pertaining to jurisprudence in Israel, as well as comparative law around the world,” he wrote. “I update that in the past few hours, I have finalized and written the conclusive opinion, and with God's help, it will be placed on the President's desk at the earliest opportunity.” 

A week prior, Eliyahu asked legal professionals, organizations, and even the general public to send him their opinions on the case on social media. 

“​The decision before me requires seriousness, depth, and a broad view of all aspects,” Eliyahu wrote. “As of now, all alternatives are relevant and are being examined with due seriousness. I will make the decision out of public responsibility and discretion.” 

“​I call on the general public, lawyers, and social organizations to send me their position, in preparation for the decision on the matter,” he concluded, before listing his contact information. 

In November, Netanyahu filed a pardon request to Herzog. The move was highly unusual, as his trial on corruption charges has yet to conclude, and no verdict has been issued. A previous precedent for a pardon request by a high-ranking official required submission after a guilty verdict had been issued and a confession of guilt, neither of which applies in the Netanyahu case. 

The only precedent for a pardon request before a verdict was issued came in 1986, when the High Court determined in the Barzilai ruling that such a pardon could be issued only “when it was made clear that the applicants admitted having committed the criminal acts for which they asked to be pardoned.” 

Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to profess his innocence in the corruption cases, arguing that they amount to a political “witch hunt.” 

In his letter to Herzog, Netanyahu wrote, “My personal interest is to conduct the trial, but the public interest dictates otherwise.” 

Along with his own position paper, Minister Eliyahu also submitted the position of the Justice Ministry’s pardons department. The professional staff in the ministry’s pardons department stated that it cannot recommend that President Herzog grant the pardon. 

President Herzog’s legal adviser, Michal Tzuk, will evaluate the position papers from the Justice Ministry and Minister Eliyahu, and then draw up her own position paper. These will be submitted to President Herzog for a final decision. 

While the president is free to make his own decision, the generally accepted practice is to favor the position of the professional officials, including the president’s legal adviser. 

President Herzog has said that he “will consider solely the best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society.” 

A left-leaning watchdog, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, wrote to Minister Eliyahu before he submitted his paper, urging him to adopt the Justice Ministry’s pardons department's opinion. 

“A pardon for the prime minister, while the criminal process is ongoing, and in opposition to professional officials, would severely harm the rule of law and the principle of the separation of powers,” the Movement for Quality Government said in its letter.