In 2019, ahead of the filing of the indictment against Benjamin Netanyahu, Isaac Herzog, by then chairman of the Jewish Agency, secretly tried to mediate an arrangement that would secure a pardon for Netanyahu. At the time, the idea was not yet a pardon before an indictment in exchange for leaving political life. Herzog spoke discreetly with President Reuven Rivlin on one side and Netanyahu on the other, mainly through a businessman close to them, Motti Zander. A legal opinion was even commissioned, unsigned, from a senior lawyer, which purportedly laid out the legal basis for such a move. It went nowhere. Netanyahu was not really interested, but Herzog floated the idea publicly in one of his television interviews. In that respect, President Herzog can say that he has been remarkably consistent.
The big question is whether his support for the initiative at the time was substantive — an attempt to prevent a rupture within the country and remove Netanyahu’s toxic leadership — or preparation for a deal with Netanyahu: support me for the presidency, and in return you will get a president sympathetic to the idea.
The fact that Netanyahu did not put forward a candidate for president against Herzog was puzzling even at the time. A prime minister who fights over every position — from the Civil Service Commissioner to the directors-general of government ministries — was giving up without a fight on the presidency, even though, on paper (the vote is secret), he had a solid majority with which to elect a president of “his own.”
For the sake of argument, let us assume there was some kind of deal between the two. What would such a deal — even if it existed — mean today? What could Netanyahu do if Herzog decided to break whatever understanding they had, if they had one? Netanyahu is the foremost breaker of political agreements. Senior figures in his party have held signed agreements with him for various positions, and he broke them without blinking. The most they could do was expose the promise. That has never impressed anyone.
In 2016, after Netanyahu’s landslide victory in the 2015 election, Herzog entered secret negotiations with Netanyahu. Secret, primarily, from Herzog’s side. In testimony to the police, Hadas Klein said that the two once met secretly at Arnon Milchan’s apartment. The meeting leaked to a journalist, who submitted a query. Herzog repeatedly called Klein in a panic and urged her to ask Netanyahu to issue a denial. Netanyahu brushed the matter aside and belittled Herzog. The barely concealed message was: “Is this how he handles pressure?”
The negotiations survived that leak. Netanyahu offered Herzog extremely generous proposals, including the Defense Ministry portfolio for his party. Herzog had already brought several senior party figures into the process. Netanyahu briefed him on the ultra-secret summit in Aqaba and the flexible diplomatic ideas he had proposed there, brought him into a rare meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and once again vowed to advance the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority.
Herzog wanted to join, and the understandings were well advanced, but then the talks became public and enormous opposition erupted within Herzog’s camp. Herzog could not withstand the pressure and began dragging his feet and adding further demands. Yariv Levin and Ze’ev Elkin stepped into the vacuum and persuaded Netanyahu to bring Avigdor Lieberman in instead of Herzog.
In other words, it is possible that Herzog wants to pardon Netanyahu, perhaps even without requiring him to commit to leaving political life (the likelihood of Netanyahu agreeing to such a retirement is virtually zero). But it is difficult to imagine Herzog daring to do so. An overwhelming majority of the public he comes from opposes such a move.
Herzog dreams of returning to that public, perhaps even attempting to lead it. Pardoning Netanyahu without his leaving the political arena would not only be a morally terrible move — it would also amount to political suicide for Herzog. If there is one thing Herzog’s career has taught us, it is that he is no suicide artist.