President Isaac Herzog told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidant during a secret meeting in March that he was unable to pardon the premier as Netanyahu had not submitted an appropriate request, according to a Friday report.
During a heated two-and-a-half-hour nighttime meeting at a mutual friend’s apartment in Shoham, right-wing journalist Jacob Bardugo reportedly told Herzog he was a “coward” for not pardoning the premier.
The meeting, which was not officially revealed to the public, took place during the US-Israel war on Iran, shortly before Herzog urged dialogue between the sides on a potential plea bargain. Word of the meeting was first reported by Channel 12 on Thursday.
It 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 guilt in the charges for which he is on trial, despite High Court precedent indicating he must do so to be considered for a pardon.
Herzog reportedly lamented to Bardugo that he was facing criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over the issue of pardoning Netanyahu.
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“You don’t understand how everyone hates me now, and partly because of you,” Channel 12 quoted Herzog as having said, referring to Bardugo’s relentless attacks in the media against the president, in which Bardugo has called Herzog a coward and demanded that he resign for not having yet pardoned Netanyahu.
Jacob Bardugo at the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“The left thinks I will grant a pardon no matter what. They consider me a suspect before I ever did anything. Meanwhile, you’re inciting the right against me nonstop,” Herzog reportedly said.
“How can I grant Netanyahu a pardon when he never even submitted a request for a pardon? What he handed us is not a request and it has no chance of passing,” Herzog was quoted as having said. He was referring to the request for a pardon Netanyahu’s lawyers submitted in November in which he did not admit guilt over the three criminal charges for which he is on trial.
Channel 12 said Bardogo responded to Herzog by again insisting that he must pardon Netanyahu, claiming it would help unite a divided country.
“Stop being a coward, stop being afraid,” Bardogo reportedly said.
“Think about how you’ll feel when you try to greet [US President Donald] Trump after he lands in Israel and the president doesn’t even agree to shake your hand and say hello. Will that be enjoyable for you?”
US President Donald Trump (center) walks with President Isaac Herzog (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport, October 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv. (AP/Evan Vucci)
The meeting was held in March, when Israel still believed Trump would visit the country on Independence Day the following month to accept the Israel Prize — a trip that didn’t pan out, largely because of the Iran war.
At the end of the meeting, Herzog reportedly informed Bardugo that he intended to actively promote a plea bargain in Netanyahu’s trial, and suggested inviting both relevant parties to the President’s Residence to reach a quick resolution.
Last month, Herzog’s legal adviser invited Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Netanyahu’s lawyer Amit Hadad to the President’s Residence to begin discussions to reach “agreements” over the premier’s criminal trial.
Left to right: President Isaac Herzog attends an event for outstanding soldiers in Jerusalem on April 20, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog attend a state memorial ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, April 21, 2026. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90); Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at the Knesset in Jerusalem on September 30, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
Baharav-Miara last week agreed to participate in such discussions. Despite a deadline to accept the invitation by May 3, Netanyahu’s lawyers have yet to respond, with Channel 12 reporting disagreements in his inner circle over whether to enter the talks.
Herzog’s office responded to Friday’s TV report by saying, “The president will continue to do everything in his power to lower the flames within Israeli society, and will reach every part of the country out of a commitment to preserving the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”
“As part of this, the president periodically holds background conversations with journalists and editors from various media outlets,” the President’s Residence added, reiterating that the meeting was “merely a general background conversation” and that “no agreement, promise or concrete discussion regarding a pardon took place.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the courtroom at the District Court in Tel Aviv, before the start of his testimony in the trial against him, October 28, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Herzog has held off on granting Netanyahu a pardon despite immense pressure from Trump, who has personally lashed out at Herzog multiple times, calling him “weak and pathetic” and demanding that he immediately pardon the prime minister.
Netanyahu’s supporters have echoed that request, insisting on the prime minister’s innocence and saying the trial is dividing the country.
Netanyahu’s opponents, meanwhile, have urged the president not to grant the premier clemency unless he admits guilt and resigns from political life.
The prime minister formally requested a pardon in November, arguing that the trial was tearing the country apart and distracting him from his duties. But he did not admit guilt, raising the question of whether he could receive a pardon while his trial was still ongoing.
Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to go on trial. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that the cases against him — which concern allegations that he traded political favors for gifts and favorable press coverage — are a witch hunt and a political coup attempt fabricated by his opponents.
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