Anyone who has read the court transcripts understands that no power can save Benjamin Netanyahu from conviction on at least some of the charges. But the pardon request submitted to President Herzog contains no hint of this, and appears to be the most brazen request ever submitted

A pardon on the terms Netanyahu is demanding would be a death blow to the judicial system and the rule of law, and would confirm his claim that a vengeful 'deep state' fabricated a case against him

There is a governmental assault on Israel's professional and ethical backbone, on the people who are committed to democracy as a way of life. I experienced this first-hand. The reason: opinion columns I had published in Haaretz