The politics of pardon: Trump’s gift to Netanyahu, writes Shelagh Fogarty
I was struck listening to Donald Trump’s speech today, not least because of its tone, which echoed that of Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier address to the Knesset.
Listen to this article
What caught my ear most was the moment Trump seemed to urge Israel to pardon Netanyahu, to wipe away the corruption charges that have shadowed him for years. Who exactly he was appealing to was unclear - the Knesset, perhaps, or the Israeli public. But the message was unmistakable. It was a call for political absolution.
It’s hard to ignore the sense that Trump is trying, in public at least, to rehabilitate Netanyahu. And for Netanyahu, Trump may well be his last hope of political survival. In Israel, it’s Trump who is seen as the hero who got the hostages home, not Netanyahu. When the American envoy, Steve Witkoff, mentioned the prime minister’s name in Hostage Square this weekend, the crowd booed for over a minute. Those jeers reflected the deep anger and mistrust many Israelis now feel towards their leader.
Netanyahu’s problem is not just political but moral. He calls himself “Mr Security,” yet on October 7, Israel suffered its gravest security failure in half a century. Civilians were massacred, soldiers barely out of school were abandoned to Hamas’s killing spree, and for hours there was no help. Many senior figures in Israel’s defence and intelligence services have since resigned or apologised. Netanyahu has done neither. His attempt to cling to power feels astonishing in the face of so much pain and accountability still missing.
Yes, Israel’s political system is very different from ours. It is coalition-based, fractious, and prone to extremes. That’s how figures like Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right settler leader, end up in government. But even within that complicated system, public anger matters. Netanyahu’s coalition is fragile, and his popularity is plummeting. Pardoning him might protect one man, but it risks deepening a wound already dividing Israeli society.
At the same time, we cannot ignore the human catastrophe in Gaza. Tens of thousands are dead. The rebuilding of homes, hospitals, and trust will require vast resources, likely from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Trump, characteristically, has positioned himself as the dealmaker-in-chief, the man who can “get it done.” Perhaps he can. But at what cost - and for whose gain - remains to be seen.
In the end, I find myself wondering what kind of survival Netanyahu is fighting for. Political? Personal? Legal? Perhaps all three. But for a man who presided over the security failures of October 7, and whose nation still grieves, the idea of a pardon feels not like mercy but denial.
Trump may wish to forgive him. But the Israeli people might not.
____________________
Listen to LBC's Shelagh Fogarty from 1-4pm Monday to Friday on the new LBC app.
LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk