Politics

Pardoning Netanyahu would weaken Israel, empower Trump's interference - opinion

AS Trump's poodle, a pardoned Netanyahu would be less free to speak up when he feels America’s actions go against Israel’s interests.

PRESIDENT ISAAC Herzog and US President Donald Trump in the Knesset in October: Granting Netanyahu a pardon and dropping all criminal charges against him would dangerously embolden Trump and weaken Herzog, the writer argues.
 Netanyahu in the Likud faction meeting

Netanyahu presses on with reforms as Likud turmoil intensifies

October 7 and the war in Gaza have heightened the demand for all Israelis to serve in the IDF. A small number of ultra-Orthodox Jews serve in the all-haredi Netzah Yehuda Battalion.

October 7 exposed Israel's deepest fracture: The haredi exemption - opinion

Ultra-Orthodox Jews carry a banner in Hebrew that reads, “to prison and not the army,” during a “million man” protest against military conscription, in Jerusalem October 30, 2025.

'A movement takes time': How one rabbi is slowly changing the haredi draft debate


Israel's self-declared gatekeepers should be locked out or locked up - opinion

Yair Golan’s rhetoric and Gali Baharav-Miara’s influence show how gatekeepers now shape the political arena as much as those they claim to restrain.

YAIR GOLAN, chairman of The Democrats Party, appears before his MKs at a parliamentary faction meeting in the Knesset last month. In Israel, hypocritical behavior is fairly standard, the writer argues.

Will Netanyahu 'heal the nation' if he receives pardon from Herzog? - opinion

Israel deserves a legitimate October 7 inquiry and new elections, amid dramatic efforts to make amends and heal wounds.

PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the dedication of a new rehab center at Hadassah Hospital-Mount Scopus in October. Pardon Netanyahu if he takes substantive steps to unite the nation, says the writer.

Aliyah Minister Sofer vows to vote against haredi draft bill, 'even if Netanyahu fires me'

RZP's Ofir Sofer to oppose draft legislation, defying faction head Bezalel Smotrich • Bismuth brings new haredi draft bill outline to Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee

Aliyah and Integration Minister Minister Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025

Sons of former Pakistan PM fear for his health, demand proof of life after three weeks of silence

Imran Khan's sons fear authorities are concealing "something irreversible" about his condition after over three weeks with no verifiable contact or proof of life from jail.

  Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023.

Bismuth’s haredi draft bill won’t change enlistment, IDI expert tells 'Post'

An Israel Democracy Institute expert warns that MK Boaz Bismuth’s haredi draft offers no real enforcement and will not improve enlistment rates.

 MK Boaz Bismuth leads the lobby for releasing the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 9, 2024.

Naftali Bennett voices support for Netanyahu pardon, coupled with PM's political exit

Former PM: "I will support a binding agreement that will include a dignified withdrawal [for Netanyahu] from political life alongside the end of the trial."

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks at a political event in Jerusalem, November 19, 2025; illustrative.

Netanyahu will not step away from Israeli politics for plea deal, intends to run again

Sources close to President Herzog said that a decision on Netanyahu's pardon will take at least two months.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Knesset as President Isaac Herzog looks on on November 30, 2025.

Netanyahu's pardon must include admission of guilt, departure from political life, Lapid charges

”You cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life," the opposition leader said.

Yair Lapid walks next then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, November 8, 2021

Tel Aviv stock market rises after Netanyahu's bombshell pardon request

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a 111-page pardon request to President Isaac Herzog, lifting Tel Aviv indexes as investors weighed stability risks and the state budget timeline.

President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a backdrop of a stock market ticker board.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu's pardon power play: A not-so-veiled offer to Israel's judiciary - analysis

The prime minister's pardon contained a not-so-veiled offer: Let me have a pardon and I will turn down the pressure on the legal establishment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara cast their vote during the elections for the Likud Central Committee, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, November 25, 2025

Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia in critical condition as son’s return uncertain

Bangladesh’s former PM Khaleda Zia remains in critical condition with a severe chest infection, while her exiled son Tarique Rahman signals uncertainty over returning amid political tensions.

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) hold pictures of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman while joining in a rally, days after the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 7, 2024.