50 Ministers & MKs To Herzog: Grant Pardon To Feldstein & Reservist

Fifty Knesset members and ministers signed a letter to President Isaac Herzog asking him to grant pardon to Eli Feldstein and the reservist, Sgt. A., the defendants in the case of the leaked classified documents from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The letter states: “The current reality in Israeli society necessitates extra caution. The intensive and exceptional investigation that the defendants underwent, alongside the ongoing legal proceedings against them poses a real threat to social cohesion at this critical time for the State of Israel. Moreover, the continuation of the proceedings could undermine public trust in the Shin Bet as a state body above all political disputes.”

Earlier, additional Knesset members, including the chairman of the UTJ party chairman, Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, and other Knesset members, sent a request to Herzog to respond to the pardon request submitted by A.

Goldknopf wrote: “As a minister in the Israeli government and as one entrusted with the welfare of the citizens of the State of Israel, I request your intervention on this matter. The sergeant, a dedicated officer to the state and the IDF, served his people loyally. Even if he erred in his conduct, he acted out of a genuine desire to do good and certainly did not intend to harm state security. It is known to the President that the sergeant’s mental and physical condition is deteriorating day by day.”

“I ask you to advance his release by granting a pardon while maintaining the necessary balances between security needs and IDF values against humanitarian principles. I sincerely hope that my request to visit the sergeant in detention will become unnecessary as I trust the President will act to secure his immediate release.”

Chikli and MKs Moshe Saada and Dan Illouz are collecting signatures from ministers and Knesset members on a letter of support for the president, stating, “A. has never acted with the intention of harming state security but rather the opposite. The conduct of the State Prosecution and law enforcement system raises feelings of severe injustice, damaging public trust in the law enforcement system.”

Earlier, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri spoke with Herzog and requested a response to Sergeant A.’s request for a pardon. Deri said: “This is a normal soldier who made a mistake and acknowledges it. He poses no danger to the public in any way, and we must put an end to his suffering and prolonged detention.”

The President’s Office stated: “The pardon request of Sgt. A. has been received at the President’s Residence, and an investigation into the matter has begun. It should be emphasized and clarified – the President of the State has full trust in the judicial system – and the request will be examined and evaluated like all requests submitted to the President’s Office.”

(DIN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)