Bibi Requests a Pardon and other Israel Updates November 2025

Prime Minister Netanyahu

It has been about 6 weeks since my last blog and I am overdue to write a bit.  It has simply been a very busy period (which is a good thing).  Unfortunately,  unpaid hobbies have to take a back seat to paid work...

That being said, there are all kinds of interesting things going on here in Israel and I thought I would take this opportunity to write about a few of them.

Netanyahu Pardon Request

As you might have read earlier today, Prime Minister Netanyahu submitted an official request for a pardon to circumvent the  conclusion of his trial.  This is being viewed in Israel as a "legal earthquake," especially by his supporters - who have been towing Netanyahu's line that the case against him has been "falling apart" and he is about to be exonerated. In fact, the submission is carefully  worded by Netanyahu so that he does not directly say he is asking for a "pardon."  He states that for the sake of the country, he is willing to "end the trial and bring about unity in the country" (with all charges dropped and no admission of guilt).  

I thought I would provide some added colour and commentary to this.  First of  all, for those of you who have read my blog sections dealing with the Netanyahu trial in the past, the evidence against Netanyahu is overwhelming (in at least in two out of the three cases).   This blog has stated all along that this case would never wind up with a verdict.  It would either end with a plea bargain deal, a pardon - or worst case (from a procedural point of view) some type of legislated end to the trial. I came to these conclusions because the State had to demonstrate a very high likelihood of getting a guilty verdict before proceeding with the trial and the State, in this case, went through three different preliminary inquiries to do that.  Netanyahu's legal team has tried every trick in the book to delay the trial and especially his cross-examination.  During the actual cross examination sittings, he has had to leave early for every type of reason ranging from urgent State meetings - to - yes - a dental hygienist appointment.  But now that the war is on a much slower burner, the Court has asked to run the trial three days a week and get it finished.  It is nearing conclusion.

Netanyahu's best chance for a favourable plea bargain deal was earlier on - before his cross- examination.  His lawyers apparently submitted a request to open discussions with the State prosecutor's office - but the parties could  not agree on terms.  The State wanted to insist that any plea bargain deal include a term that Netanyahu be convicted of offences including Moral Turpitude (like a felony conviction).  This would preclude Netanyahu from running again for office.  He was unwilling to agree.

Now the trial is getting closer to a conclusion.  Netanyahu's cross-examination is close to ending.  Once it is over, there will be reply evidence from the State - and then closing argument.  Although Netanyahu's team says that the trial would otherwise continue for "years" - this simply does not seem to be the case.  The end is nigh as they say.

So, to use a football analogy - Netanyahu's team decided  now was the right time to throw a "hail Mary" - or since it is Israel - let's call it a "Hail Miriam."  Of course, he sprinkled his request with language that he would rather continue on with the trial until the end and that this is really for the good of the state.  But c'mon - we can easily look past that language.  This is clearly a very desperate move.  Elections are coming up before the end of 2026, Netanyahu's trial is still ongoing - and he and his team know or suspect that they have a very small chance of winning the trial.  

As you may recall, President Trump has become involved personally - by requesting a pardon for Netanyahu on several occasions ("Believe me, I know all about the importance of pardons for innocent, unfairly framed public figures and politicians...")(Okay, he didn't really say that...).  Trump's involvement included the unprecedented step of sending a formal letter from the White House to the State of Israel asking for a pardon.  ("I am asking for a friend....").   The response from the President of Israel was two fold - (1) In Israel - the person seeking the pardon has to submit it themselves; and (2) unlike the U.S. you cannot get a blanket pardon in Israel -  you can only get a pardon where there has been a conviction and/or an admission of guilt.  The Presidential pardon powers in Israel are much more limited than in the U.S.  (I won't get into this at any length now but I will say that anyone with money who always wanted a pardon in the U.S., even a prospective one, probably has the best chance of getting it now under the current administration.....so start setting up those "GoFundMe" pages if you haven't done so yet...).  Although in fairness, Presidents Obama and Biden  also handed out  pardons like Halloween candies....

So Netanyahu was left with three choices.  One was to legislate his trial away.  While some of his partners might have supported this - some wouldn't and it is doubtful he could get a majority in the Knesset for that - even with his "totally right wing" government.  The second choice was to cut a soft plea bargain deal - but the State is not prepared to go along. He has been trying to replace the Attorney General but it is a difficult process  in Israel since there are procedural hurdles to follow.  A friendly AG might be more inclined to give him a better deal.  For now the State still wants there to be a significant conviction as part of any deal.  The third alternative is a pardon.  Generally, under Israeli law, Netanyahu would need to agree or be convicted of some offences to then get a pardon.  So this might form part of a three -way negotiation with the State prosecutor and the President - whereby there would be a conviction and a pardon all as part of a package.  

Should be very interesting   But I continue to maintain that there will never be an actual verdict in this trail - other than a negotiated one.  And I do now say that the end of  this trial, one way or the other, will come before the next election, scheduled for October 2026.

Ultra Religious Military Exemption

As the next election approaches, the ultra-religious have been clamouring to take advantage of their current position in government - and get a law that exempts most if not all of the ultra-religious from the army.  This has been a major issues for quite some time in Israel.  I am not going to get into extensive detail - perhaps that is for another blog.

In short, together with the founding of the State, Israel's first Prime Minister Ben Gurion entered into an agreement that a small number (I think it was 15,000) of  the most committed ultra-orthodox students would be granted a military exemption  to continue  their studies for the sake of Judaism and the State.  Much like the state might exempt  certain exceptional athletes, artists, musicians  or other incredibly talented people in different disciplines (even though these people generally still serve in the army).  However, over the years - the numbers exploded and the ultra-orthodox came to view the deal as meaning that none of them are obligated to go to army.  Their numbers have climbed disproportionately and the army needs manpower (and womanpower).  And other Orthodox Jews serve in the army - even claiming that they are required to do so by Jewish religious law - to defend themselves.

The Supreme Court of Israel has ruled on several occasions that the State cannot exempt all the ultra-religious as this would be unfair - to the rest of Israelis.

This whole issue  has been a hot potato since the ultra-religious form a significant part of Netanyahu's coalition and  are demanding a new exemption bill as a condition of supporting Netanyahu.

So this week, one of Netanyahu's Ministers, Boaz Bismuth, presented a "Draft Bill" that more or  less makes it possible  for most ultra-religious to avoid army service.  The problem is that even Netanyahu's own Likud members do not seem willing to support the bill, let alone some of the other coalition partners.  It may be that the whole government will  collapse over this issue - and this will send the country to the polls ahead of schedule. Perhaps this is how  Netanyahu would like things to happen - so that he can partially run against the exemption bill - even though his own government is proposing it.  Or perhaps he will run and say that he tried to pass it but needs even  more right wing support from the Haredim to be able to do so.  Hard to say.

War Picture

Although things in Israel are on a  "slow burn" in terms of all  of the conflicts, nothing is really settled.  Hezbollah is trying to rearm and rebuild in the North  while Israel is trying to help the Lebanese establish a government  without Hezbollah and with some level of stability.  There have been skirmishes in the north and things could develop into more significant fighting at any time.

Likewise, Syria is very unstable.  They are not in any position to open large scale fighting with Israel (unless backed by Turkey or  Iran) but the instability may well lead to hostility.  Israel is very much hoping that Syria can reach some level of stability and then perhaps everyone can  try to move to a deal whereby Syria joins the  Abraham accords.  I am not sure whether this is a fantasy at this point in time  but let's hope that it is something possible that is getting closer.

Iran is "rebuilding" and hoping to rearm and making threats to "completely destroy Israel" the next time around.  So until the Iranian regime falls and is replaced by something that actually cares for its citizenry, Iran is  likely to be an ongoing threat to Israel and to the rest of the word.

Gaza

Reports from earlier today state that Hamas is consolidating its power over many areas of Gaza, collecting taxes and reestablishing its authority.  Part of the Trump deal was that Hamas would not run Gaza and that international authorities would ensure that this was the case.  But no international bodies are coming forward and Hamas is trying to rearm. Some voices in Israel are stating that Israel may have to completely occupy Gaza in order to replace Hamas with an authority that can run the strip in a way that is conducive to a long term peace arrangement.

Judea and Samaria

Meanwhile, there are reports of quite a bit of unprovoked violence by residents of Judea and Samaria (referred to by some as the "West Bank.").  My blog is not part of  "hasbara" and I call a spade a spade.  Those who are launching unprovoked attacks against Palestinian residents in Judea and Samaria - are basically Jewish terrorists.  Sorry if you don't like the language.  In my view, they should be arrested immediately and subject to the full weight of the law. Perhaps it is not surprising that these things are taking place since the current Minister for Police Affairs - Itamir Ben  Gvir - is himself an extremist who was deemed unfit for military service.  It may only be that with a change in government - the State will take proper action to stop these attacks.

Increasing Tourism

Since the end of the war (or the pause  in the war, if you prefer), more and more airlines have resumed flights to Israel and more and more  tourists are arriving.  We had an incredibly warm November - with temperatures in the range of 28c (83F) through most of the month.  Apparently, many tourists arrived, which was great for the economy and  for the mood in the country.  I hope that we will be able to continue with this relatively stable situation and that more and more tourists will arrive - and enjoy the many wonderful things that there are to see and  do here.

Direct Flights

Air Canada has  now been flying direct between Tel-Aviv and Toronto and will soon expand to include Montreal.  I will be taking advantage of one of those  flights tomorrow on my way back to Toronto.  Interestingly it is now 12 hours and  10 minutes  from Tel Aviv to Toronto.  I am quite sure that it was closer to 11 hours 30 minutes when the Dreamliners first started flying from Tel-Aviv to Toronto.  Not sure why it is longer now but I'm fairly sure that I remember correctly.

As you may have heard, Air Canada  is changing its Aeroplan system effective January 1, 2026, and making it much more difficult for many  people to gain frequent  flyer status.  Essentially, they are moving to a system that will  be based almost exclusively on dollars spent rather than miles flown.  So for those  of us who mainly fly back and forth between Toronto and Tel-Aviv - or other similar long distance commuting trips - it will be very difficult  to get the same status.  

I am hoping that I will make Air Canada's "Super-Elite" status by December this year - but that will probably be the last year I can do it - unless there is some other dramatic change.  Unfortunately, there are no better  options - since El  Al  is not flying direct to Toronto  and I would  prefer to  avoid transferring if I can.  I have had  no choice since October 2023 but I am now thrilled  to have an option to fly direct, even if it is a  bit more expensive.

Worldwide Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israel Activism

Given that there are only  about 15-16 million Jews in the world and more  than a billion Muslims, it is perhaps not surprising that the Jewish State of  Israel is very unpopular around the world. That is not to say that Israel does not have Muslim friends - in fact the Abraham accords have demonstrated that  several Muslim countries are happy to be friendly with Israel - and we hope that will be the case for more and more of the Muslim world.

But there are certainly a percentage of Muslims that fall into the extremist camp - and many of those seem to have emigrated to various countries around the world and are now supporting  and advocating for anti-Semitic and Anti-Israel policies.

Since October 2023 - Toronto has seen all kinds of outrageous anti-Jewish acts including attacks and vandalism on schools, synagogues, Jewish owned stores, restaurants and businesses - and demonstrators in Jewish residential neighbourhoods - and all kinds of other actions including "encampments" at universities.  Generally, this has all been met with silence by anti-Israel Mayor Chow (who just last week raised a Palestinian flag at City Hall - but refuses to attend the annual Walk for Israel event).

Much of this has also taken place all over the U.S. and in many other countries.  It's astounding that New York City, the city with one of the world's largest Jewish populations (think Warsaw before World War  II) has now elected a pro-BDS, anti-Israel mayor.  Frightening.

While it is easy enough to blame Israel and its current government, I don't think that "blaming the victim" is the proper approach to dealing with extremists. These "demonstrators" who cover their faces and shout violent slogans, take over universities and other public property - should be arrested and punished.  The constitutional right to protest does not include the right to harass, to advocate violence or to "occupy" public and private places and certainly does not include the right to commit acts of vandalism and violence. At a minimum any "encampments" or "demonstrations" in inappropriate places should immediately be broken up and cleared - wherever they occur.

Chanuka Coming - Donuts Are Here

As I have written in some past blogs - the big sign of Chanuka approaching is the sudden appearance of every possible kind of donut across the country.  Donuts with every possible topping, filling and colour. We don't really have any Chanuka decorations and certainly no "Chanuka bushes" (I think that is mostly limited to the U.S.) but we have donuts everywhere.

Interestingly, potato latkes (which always represented Chanuka for me as I was growing up) are not nearly as ubiquitous as donuts.  I guess neither of them are particularly healthy - but I have always had a soft spot for fresh latkes. Both of  my grandmothers (z"l) used to spoil me (and my siblings) whenever they had the chance by whipping up a batch - seemingly an unlimited quantity.  My mother also knew how much we loved them and would make them from time to time - especially during Chanuka. Maybe I will get a chance to make some for my parents while I am in Toronto this time (I tend to make a bit of a mess but my cooking is pretty decent).

Here in Israel, it falls on me and my wife to make them now - which we enjoy doing once or twice a year. One batch of spicy Yemenite latkes with hot peppers and "hawaij" a curry type mixture - and one batch Ashkenazi style with matza meal, salt, pepper and maybe a bit of sugar and baking powder.

We will probably buy a few donuts since neither of us feel like deep frying a batch of donuts.

Recommendation of the Day for those Visiting Israel

Hula Valley  Nature Reserve

I thought I would end this blog with a special recommendation. If  you are in Israel between November and March  - there is one activity that I would strongly recommend as something that is truly amazing.  Israel is home to the Hula Valley Nature reserve - which is a massive bird sanctuary in northern Israel - near Kiryat Shemona.  Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds  stop here on the way from Europe to Africa.  Many of them are European Cranes but there are also a range of other types of birds including flamingos, European Hoopoes (Israel's national bird) and all kinds of other birds. 

The sanctuary offers a special mini-bus tour that holds about 40 people per bus, booked  in advance, and takes place starting about an hour before sunset.  (There is also a sunrise tour - but I haven't been on that one). The bus is cut in half so that all forty people are facing one side.  The tour takes people behind the scenes to areas  where the public is generally not allowed.   You are able to see  thousands of birds arriving in the area for the evening.  It is an amazing spectacle.  We have had the good fortune of  doing this twice - including once in November 2025.  Both times, I can only say that it has been awesome and I am ready to go again any time.  (Including with visitors - we will be happy to take you if you would like to join us).

I appreciate that there are many more things to write about, especially since I haven't been writing as often.  But I am going to call it a day for now and say that I hope to see many of you  soon - whether in Toronto, Israel or elsewhere in the world.

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Deal Has Been Signed - Hostages Are Coming Home

I was in the local convenience store this morning, getting a few items that we  had forgotten earlier.  We were talking with the cashier - who said - "it is the first day in two years that he has actually seen several people smiling."  And that about sums up the type of night we had - with the news about a cease fire that has been reached.

In my last blog, I wrote that we were hoping for a deal soon.  That was in July.  Here we are, more than three months later, and we seem to have finally reached some sort of deal that will see the return of all of the live Israeli hostages and an end to this current war with Hamas, at least for now.

I have not had the chance to go through the deal in detail yet - I am not sure it is even available in full.  However, I think we can take several key points from the detail:

1. All of the live hostages will be returned immediately, as early as Sunday or Monday of this week, all at once. No more deals of releasing one or two a week or anything like that.  This was apparently not something that Hamas had been willing to agree on earlier - though I am not sure anyone really knows.

2. In return, Israel will release some prisoners from its jails (these are mostly, if not all, convicted murderers and terrorists  who have killed or tried to kill Israeli civilians).  However, Israel (for now at least) won't release some of the highest profile prisoners (like Marwan Barghuti) and won't return the bodies of Yahyah Sinwar or Mohammad Def. 

3. Many of the subsequent details have yet to be agreed upon.  However, Israel will pull back its troops from some of their current positions and Hamas will agree that a new - international supported entity will take over the administration of the Gaza Strip - even though that may take time to implement.

4. President Trump used his extraordinary influence (or whatever else) to get Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and others onside. I don't think we know what he promised each of them at this point, though I am quite sure that it is something significant. It remains to be seen how harmful these promises may turn - some articles claim that Trump agreed to supply Turkey and Egypt with new, very sophisticated military airplanes.  Apparently, there are also stronger assurances of defence for Qatar - though I am not sure Qatar has agreed, in exchange, to stop sponsoring worldwide terrorism.

I am sure that more details will emerge in the coming days.  For now, we are hoping that the initial phase goes ahead as planned and that the 20 hostages will come home alive and that they can be rehabilitated.  Many of them have probably been tortured, starved and suffered all kinds of injuries, physical and psychological.  Israel is also seeking the remains of the other 28 hostages who were captured but Hamas is claiming that it only has 13-15 of those bodies at this point.

I am definitely concerned about the prospect of terrorist attacks - in Israel and around the world at Jewish sites in the coming days - especially with so much of the BDS and terror supporting crowd opposing this deal.  I hope that our security forces here and around the world will be on full alert and will prevent or minimize any such attacks.

Meanwhile in Israel, the deal itself still has to approved by Israel's cabinet, which is expected to take place tonight.  By all accounts, it is anticipated that the deal will pass by a significant majority.  Cabinet ministers Ben-Gvir and  Smotrich still have not announced their positions, but they may well oppose the deal.  However, this will not bring about the fall of the government, since there are enough votes to pass the deal and keep the government in power, for now.

What's Next:

Israel is due to have elections by October 2026.  It is unlikely that Prime Minister Netanyahu would ever be in a better position to win an election than he would be shortly after the return of all of the hostages and so there is a strong prospect that elections will take place earlier.

There is one "little" problem - Bibi's criminal charges.  One option is  a plea bargain deal.  However, I don't believe that the State Prosecutor is prepared to recommend a deal that Bibi could live with - i.e. the dropping of all the charges - or a guilty plea to some very inconsequential offences.   The Prosecution continues to insist that, at a minimum, Bibi plead guilty to offences that are deemed more serious under Israeli law and would bar him from running for office for 7 years, even if he avoids jail time.

An alternative would be a pardon from the President of Israel - Isaac Bougie Herzog. Up until recently, President Herzog maintained that he would not grant an unconditional pardon.  However I believe that Herzog may now be willing to provide one under conditions that are much less severe.  In other words - we could see a guilty plea of some sort, combined with a pardon - that would free Netanyahu to run again.

Ultimately, once Netanyahu has received a pardon - he may be willing to leave public office at some point.  I believe that he would like to first secure a peace deal with Saudi Arabia - but that is pure speculation on my part.

Many Israelis, a large majority according to many polls, would like to see a  full public inquiry into what happened on October 7, 2023 - with every issue, every failure and every event subject to full examination.  Only with this type of inquiry will we be in a position to address security issues and strengthen our borders and our military readiness. For now, Netanyahu has strongly opposed this type of inquiry.

Other Stuff to Mention

There are so many things that I could write about since so much has been taking place.  But I have been very busy - with personal celebratory events (thankfully), with work and with many other things.  We are in the midst of the last holiday of the holiday season - the holiday of Sukkot - which is also known as the "time of our happiness."  It culminates in the holiday of Simchat Torah - the "Rejoicing of the Torah" but that is also the day on which the horrible massacre of October 7th occurred.

Our Rosh Hashanah was a bit more low key than usual with a few of our family members out of the country.  Days later, we conducted our Ra'anana Yom Kippur tefillot (prayer services) outdoors in one of the family's backyards - with about  50 participants.  It was intimate, inspiring, participatory - and particularly comfortable (weatherwise this year). Yom Kippur, the day of  awe, is  actually quite awesome in Israel - to see the country come to a complete standstill - other than people taking the streets to walk or bike around.  

We were a bit slow off the mark to get our Sukkah put up - but we managed to stop by the  annual Ra'anana sukkot market - buy a lulav set with an etrog - that we could wave around in all the different  directions - and now the sukkah is ready for an event or two.

Around the World

The news of all kinds of outrageous anti-Semitic and  anti-Israel activity around the world is simply shocking.  

In Canada, our extremist Prime Minister (yes it is fair to call him extremist on this issue) has recognized a Palestinian State - without negotiations, borders, concessions, terms....  In fact, just a year prior, the House of Commons voted down such a step.  But the Prime Minister did not put it to a new vote. Prime Minister Carney, bolstered by some even more extremist cabinet ministers, like Minister Anita Anand, has joined the ranks of some of the most extreme anti-Israel world leaders - in places like Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Turkey.  I think one can only say that this is frightening, sad and very concerning about where Canada might be headed in the future. And do not think that this is only an issue affecting Israel and the Jewish community. Supporting Muslim extremism can have disastrous long term consequences in a range of other issues.

There were several demonstrations across Canada by pro-Hamas agitators mixed together with extreme leftists (those in the Syd Ryan /CUPE camp) - in support of the October 7, 2023 massacres - and very little outrage, that I saw, other than from the leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre and a handful of others.  Imagine widespread demonstrations across the U.S. or Canada in support of the 9/11 attacks. Or commemorating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in a positive way.  That is what we are talking about.

In a North York High School, on October 7, 2025, the two year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 massacres, Earl Haig High School played the Canadian national anthem - "Oh Canada" on its speaker system in Arabic.  Yes this is true! The principal explained that this was organized by a  student group, that they were commemorating "Islamic Heritage Month" and that they didn't know it was related to October 7th.   Give me a break!  It's obscene.  Simply obscene.  A celebration of, indeed, an encouragement of  the terrorism that took place on October 7, 2023. 

We have seen attacks on synagogues, Jewish high profile figures, university students and other Jews and  Jewish institutions all over the world since October 2023 - even while leaders in some places - rail on about "islamophobia."  This is simply unjustifiable.  I hope that countries like Canada and  others will take steps to assure the safety of their Jewish communities in the face of these vile activities. But often, these issues require leadership from the top. We need leadership that will make it clear that  these types of activities - from shutting  down universities to vandalizing Jewish owned businesses - to protesting outside synagogues are not permitted and  will stopped. And the perpetrators will be prosecuted, fully.

I hope that the current deal will  bring about a change for Israel and for its friends and allies around the world.

Sports News

I can't write one these blogs without a few sports comments.

First of all, Israel will be playing Norway and Italy on Saturday night and Tuesday night respectively in World Cup qualifying games.  These are crucial games if Israel is to have any chance of making it to the World Cup. There has been a great deal of pressure on FIFA from anti-Israel countries and some football players to try and expel Israel from FIFA.  But to date, FIFA has rejected these demands.  Israel's chances of qualifying are still quite low - since Norway is a very strong side but I think that it is fair to say that these are some of  Israel's biggest football games in quite a while.

Last night, as I was watching  the breaking news from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt and Washington D.C., I was also watching the Blue Jays clinch a trip to the MLB American League Championship Series - a best of seven semi-final - with the winner going to the World Series.  It was super exciting and I am hoping that I will be able to get to an ALCS or even a World Series game in the coming weeks.

While this is not sports news - I wanted to mention that those same anti-Israel  protagonists -  especially Ireland and Spain, have been clamouring to kick Israel out of the annual Eurovision song competition.  Fortunately, Germany and a few others have apparently stood up to this pressure and  refused to given in to this anti-Israel sentiment and kick Israel out.  So as of now, Israel will participate in the 2026  Eurovision contest - Israel placed second last year - winning a large majority of the popular vote

Airline News

Air Canada is scheduled to restart direct flights to Israel today - almost as if they knew that this is when the war would end.  I always believed that Air Canada (unlike so many other airlines) would only begin flying when there was a cease fire deal.  Now there is one - and perhaps Air Canada will now be back on track with regular direct flights.

There is so much more to write but my time is limited. I wish everyone a Chag Sukkot Sameach. Hoping that the deal with proceed, that the hostages will be returned and that the war will end and usher in many years of expended peace with all of Israel's neighbours.

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