Benjamin Netanyahu stunned critics and supporters alike when he released an English-language video this month explaining that he has formally asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog for clemency, calling his years-long prosecution a “farce” that boils down to a Bugs Bunny doll and a few cigars. The prime minister framed the case as a political assault that distracts from governing and defends his decision to seek a pardon rather than plead guilty to charges he insists are baseless.
This is not hyperbole: the indictments at issue reach back to 2020 and involve allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, yet much of the public record shows investigators and prosecutors chasing trivialities while the country faces existential threats. Netanyahu has publicly mocked portions of the cross-examination — including questions about a cartoon doll given to his child decades ago — and said judges even urged prosecutors to drop the bribery count long ago, a fact that makes the persistence of prosecution look political.
Washington weighed in as well: President Donald Trump personally sent a letter to President Herzog urging clemency, calling the proceedings a “witch hunt” and demanding the trial be cancelled or a pardon be granted, a dramatic intervention that exposed the raw politicization swirling around this case. Whether you cheer or jeer Mr. Trump’s involvement, the simple reality is that a sitting wartime leader being consumed by court appearances is a strategic problem for Israel and for its allies.
Conservatives should refuse to accept the normalization of weaponized prosecutions where political opponents deploy the legal system to kneecap leaders they disagree with. This is about more than one man; it is about whether democratic institutions are used to defend the public or to purge rival views, and the answer matters to every free society that values strong leadership and the rule of law without political vengeance.
Netanyahu has argued persuasively that six years of investigations and four years of trial time are now depriving Israel of the leadership it needs — from negotiating treaties to harnessing advanced technologies that could reshape the region. The prime minister’s plea for clemency is rooted in the imperative that a nation fighting grave security challenges cannot be led by a government distracted by court sessions and media trials.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media and the establishment legal class have shown a willingness to treat trivial details as earth-shattering while downplaying larger strategic threats, proving once again that the left’s appetite for spectacle often trumps sober governance. Patriots on both sides of the Atlantic should see past the performative outrage and recognize when prosecutorial excess becomes an instrument of political warfare.
If Israel chooses to grant clemency, it will be a judgment about national priorities; if it refuses, the consequences for internal cohesion and international support will be felt for years. Either way, American conservatives must stand with allies who defend themselves and refuse to let legalistic theater weaken nations that share our values.
Hardworking Americans and Israelis deserve leaders who can focus on security, prosperity and liberty — not a judicial circus that plays to camera-ready gossip about toys and cigars. It’s time to call out the political weaponization of the justice system, back strong leadership, and demand that our institutions serve the country, not a partisan agenda.
