Jan-Christoph Kitzler, ARD Tel Aviv, tagesschau, 08.11.2026 • 06:00 Uhr
Archiv: Isaac Herzog
זו העת להקמת ממשלת חירום לאומית. אעשה הכל כדי שנהיה ראויים
(…)
Israel‘s president taps opposition candidate Eisenkot to form a government, in setback for Netanyahu
Eisenkot, a former military chief, ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading a bloc of parties seeking to oust Israel‘s longest-serving premier.
„Now is the time to form a national emergency government. I will do everything to ensure we are worthy,“ Eisenkot wrote on X in his first reaction to the announcement of his designation.
Israel‘s president pledges to pick candidate on Sunday to form government
Herzog held marathon talks with elected factions on Wednesday and Thursday, during which 67 of parliament‘s 120 elected lawmakers endorsed Eisenkot, while 46 endorsed Netanyahu.
In televised remarks at the end of the talks, Herzog said that while the „results of the consultations may appear clear“, there were „mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves“ that make it difficult to say who has the best shot to form a government.
Israel‘s former chief of staff Eisenkot in strong position to replace Netanyahu as new PM
Gadi Eisenkot was chosen by the leaders of six parties, representing a majority of seats in the Knesset, as the most legitimate candidate to form a new government. President Isaac Herzog is expected to announce his decision on Sunday.
Israel’s opposition leaders back Eisenkot to oust Netanyahu
The leaders of the Jewish-led opposition alliance met on Tuesday in the city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, in their first joint meeting since the October 27 election, which left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
The agreement comes a day before President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with parties on who should form the next government.
Democrats to recommend Eisenkot for prime minister ahead of meeting with Herzog
The Democrats party announced on Monday that it would recommend Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog as its candidate to form the next government, ahead of the president’s consultations with party representatives beginning Wednesday.
The announcement came after the two other party leaders in the bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett (B‘Yachad) and Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), said they would recommend Eisenkot.
Herzog met secretly with pro-Netanyahu journalist Bardugo to discuss pardon — report
President Isaac Herzog secretly met with journalist Jacob Bardugo, a confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in late March to discuss the premier’s request for a pardon, Channel 12 news reports.
The nighttime meeting at an apartment in Shoham, which was not revealed to the public, took place shortly before Herzog urged dialogue between the sides on a plea bargain. It also came about after bitter criticism of Herzog by Bardugo on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 for not pardoning the prime minister, who has refused to admit wrongdoing despite High Court precedent indicating he must do so for a pardon.
Israel’s President, Putting Off Decision on Pardon for Netanyahu, Will Push for Plea Deal
Mr. Herzog, the officials said, believes that there are many options beyond the binary pardon-or-no-pardon choice, and that the main role of Israel’s president is to foster unity. So he does not plan to say yes or no to Mr. Netanyahu’s request for a pardon at this stage, the officials said, preferring to try to resolve the issue through negotiations.
Trump calls Herzog ‚disgrace,‘ urges him to pardon Netanyahu ‚today‘ – N12
“Herzog should give Netanyahu a pardon today,” Trump was quoted as saying, while also sharply criticizing Herzog and claiming the Israeli president had promised him multiple times that a pardon would be issued.
Trump called Herzog „a disgrace,“ and said he had “promised me five times” that he would pardon Netanyahu, according to the N12 report,
Herzog Presents Presidential Award to Miriam Adelson and pro-Israel German Media Mogul
(October 22, 2025)
Israel‘s President Isaac Herzog awarded the 2025 Presidential Medal of Honor on Wednesday to German media mogul Matthias Döpfner, known for promoting a pro-Israel line in his outlets, and to Israeli-U.S. megadonor Miriam Adelson, for their „unique contribution“ to Israel.
Döpfner, CEO of German media giant Axel Springer, the publisher of daily tabloid Bild and a close associate of Netanyahu, has been linked to the so-called Bibileaks affair involving the alleged leak of a classified document from Netanyahu‘s office to Bild in an attempt to influence Israeli public opinion concerning the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Herzog says Netanyahu trial is hurting Israel as pardon request reviewed
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Herzog said the pardon request must be examined by professional legal authorities within the Justice Ministry, including assessments of disputed legal questions. He stressed that the prolonged legal process has weighed heavily on Israel and that ways forward must be considered, while underscoring that any decision would be made strictly in accordance with Israeli law.
Trump claims Herzog told him Netanyahu pardon ‘on its way’; Israeli president denies it
Speaking during his meeting in Florida with Netanyahu, Trump said he believed a pardon was on the way: “How can you not?” he said. “He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon?”
(…)
“There has not been a conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted,” Herzog’s office said in a statement issued just a few minutes after Trump’s comments.
Hadash: No Pardon for Genocide War
According to Hadash MK Ayman Odeh: “It is expected of every person to understand that this move by Netanyahu is intended for one purpose: that you talk about it… and not talk about the execution in Jenin by Ben Gvir’s platoons, not about the targeted elimination of the two children on Sunday in Gaza, not about the regime coup, not about the budget that will harm each and every one of you, not about the political violence, not about the ethnic cleansing, not about the unbearable crime and murder in Arab society, and not about the economic and social situation that’s at an unprecedented low…that you talk about the ‘pardon’ that is imagined, but that you do not talk about the abandonment, the destruction, or about the simple fact that Netanyahu is a war criminal, and should stand trial in The Hague”.
Israelis protest in Tel Aviv after Netanyahu seeks pardon on fraud cases
Protesters have rallied outside the home of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, demanding he reject Prime Minister Netanyahu‘s request for a pardon on corruption charges.
The move has divided his political opponents as well as the Israeli people.
Netanyahu formally asks for pardon from Israeli president
„Faced with the security challenges and political opportunities currently facing the State of Israel, I am committed to doing everything in my power to heal the rifts, achieve unity among the people, and restore trust in the state‘s systems, and I expect all heads of state agencies to do the same.“
Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, to which he has entered a plea of „not guilty“
Exclusive: Met Police appoint prosecutor to ‚urgently review‘ application for Israeli president‘s arrest
On Tuesday morning pro-Palestine campaign group Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) instructed a legal team to apply for an arrest warrant to be issued for Herzog on „charges of aiding, abetting or procuring direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects“.
The Met responded to FOA that afternoon in an email seen by MEE.
In the email, officers confirmed that „the Counter Terrorism Division received the papers relating to your request in respect of Mr Herzog.
Despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israel’s President Herzog is due to visit the UK in the coming days. Today I joined @AndyMcDonaldMP & other MPs to ask the PM how this visit complies with UK obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
More than 60 MPs have just spoken out against Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s UK visit
More than 60 parliamentarians have written to the prime minister expressing their grave concern at reports that the Labour Party government is to welcome Israeli President Isaac Herzog on a visit to London from Tuesday 9 September.
In the letter, they stated that the UK, as a state party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, has a binding responsibility not only to refrain from committing genocide itself, but:
also to take active steps to prevent and punish genocide and incitement to it wherever it occurs. This obligation includes ensuring that individuals credibly implicated in the commission or incitement of such crimes are not afforded political legitimacy or hospitality by our government.
In shocking public spar, Herzog hits back at Netanyahu by expressing support for Israeli judiciary
(March 19, 2025)
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets an attack on the “leftist deep state’s weapon[ization] of the justice system[s]” in the US and Israel, President Isaac Herzog’s office quickly posts a rebuttal.
“Israel’s strong and independent judicial system is an asset to our democracy, and the president of Israel is very proud of it,” Herzog’s office tweets.
Netanyahu was warned a year before Oct. 7 that Hamas saw its ‘moment had arrived,’ Lapid tells civilian inquiry
“During the months leading up to the disaster, the prime minister and cabinet ministers received a series of serious, unprecedented warnings. From the middle of 2023 there were more and more voices within the terrorist organizations that said that the moment they had been waiting for had arrived,” he says.
Lapid recalls asking Bar “if these warnings were also brought before the prime minister and cabinet ministers, and the answer was: ‘Of course they were.‘”
Netherlands Protest LIVE: Protest In Amsterdam Against Israeli President Herzog | Gaza War | IN18L
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is to attend the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam on Sunday amid a planned protest against Israel‘s killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.
Never again is now: protest against Israeli president Herzog!
From Erev Rav:
„NEVER AGAIN IS NOW
We express our deep concern regarding the upcoming opening of the Dutch National Holocaust Museum, where Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog is scheduled to attend alongside Dutch king Willem-Alexander.
While we honor the memory of our ancestors who perished in the Holocaust and recognize the importance of preserving their memory, we cannot stand by silently while the genocide in Gaza continues to unfold.
We are organizing a peaceful protest moment during the opening ceremony of the National Holocaust Museum.
We as Jews deserve better than the instrumentalisation of our pain in order to justify an ongoing genocide!
Dutch pro-Palestinian group demands arrest of Isaac Herzog for ‚war crimes and genocide‘ in Gaza
(07.03.2024)
Ahead of president Isaac Herzog‘s scheduled visit to the Netherlands on Sunday, a local pro-Palestinian organization submitted a request to arrest him for war crimes in Gaza. The Foreign Affairs and Justice ministries are preparing to prevent embarrassment and to ensure that there will be no harm during the visit.
NEW: The government hid from Parliament the Foreign Office‘s „serious concerns“ about Israel‘s compliance with International Humanitarian Law in Gaza, according to newly-released court papers. This should be national news – and it should end arms sales to Israel.
The papers show that at the start of the war the Foreign Office set up an internal International Humanitarian Law assessment process.
On 10 November it judged: “the volume of strikes, total death toll, as well as proportion of those who are children raise serious concerns”. 2/12
It also said: „the government’s current inability to come to a clear assessment on Israel’s record of compliance with International Humanitarian Law poses significant policy risks”.
But look at what Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said to me just 4 days later… 3/12
In Parliament on 14 November, I asked Mitchell if British-made weapons had been used in violation of international law in Gaza.
He replied reassuring me of Israel‘s commitment to international law, even though just 4 days earlier his department registered serious concerns. 4/12
Mitchell said: „The member will know that the President of Israel has made it clear that his country will abide by International Humanitarian Law“.
These court papers reveal that his own department, the UK Foreign Office, doubted the Israeli President‘s words.
Report: Netanyahu demanded exclusion of recusal law from potential overhaul freeze
The compromise, as reported, aimed to freeze all further judicial overhaul legislation in return for granting the coalition more power on the Judicial Selection Committee in the form of veto power on the selection of the Supreme Court president and lower court judges.
But today’s report says Netanyahu was adamant that any freeze still allow a potential “override clause” to be legislated with a regular majority, in the event that the High Court of Justice nullifies the government’s law shielding the premier from being ordered by courts or the attorney general to step down.
Compromise Talks on Israel‘s Judicial Overhaul Resume
Simcha Rothman, the chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, said that if no agreement is reached with the opposition, some of the judicial overhaul legislation would be passed by the Knesset during its current session
Former IDF chief of staff & protest leader Dan Halutz articles mvmnt’s demands: 1.Complete independence of courts 2.Full stop to judicial overhaul bills 3.Reversal of all laws already passed (eg donations law) 4.Non-partisan presidential cmte to formulate reforms, no time limit
Tens of Thousands Flock to Protests Across Israel to Oppose Netanyahu’s Judicial Overhaul
Negotiating teams will meet next week at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem to begin dialogue over the laws of the proposed judicial overhaul. This will be the first time the sides will discuss the details of the laws submitted to the Knesset, with previous meetings having focused on technical issues.
Several speakers at the protests called on opposition leaders to halt the negotiations, among them former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, who addressed the central demonstration in Tel Aviv.