Experts lambaste Trump’s call to end PM’s trial as assault on judicial independence

Pro-democracy activists, legal scholars, and non-governmental organizations on Thursday strongly criticized US President Donald Trump’s call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial to be canceled, with some accusing the prime minister of actively having sought Trump’s intervention.

And even the head of Republicans Overseas Israel rebuked the president for setting a precedent of US interference in Israel’s internal legal processes.

Netanyahu’s criminal trial began in 2020. He is charged with the crime of fraud and breach of trust in three cases, as well as with accepting a bribe in the form of positive media coverage in one of those cases.

In a long post on Truth Social on Wednesday night, Trump lauded Netanyahu’s leadership during the recent war with Iran and the strength of the partnership between the two men. He then called for Netanyahu’s trial to either be canceled or for him to be given a pardon, adding that the trial itself was a “WITCH HUNT.”

“It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu,” declared Trump in his post.

Prof. Adam Shinar of the Harry Radzyner Law School at Reichman University, described Trump’s comments as “unprecedented” in terms of a US president “intervening in purely domestic matters” in Israel.

He said, however, that there was “almost zero chance” that Trump’s comments would have any impact on the trial, since the attorney general, who could in theory withdraw Netanyahu’s indictment or postpone the trial, would undermine the independence and integrity of Israel’s legal system by being seen to obey the demands of a foreign leader.

Shinar added that a pardon has only ever been granted by an Israeli president before a conviction on one occasion, in the Bus 300 Affair, and that such a pardon in Netanyahu’s case was unlikely to be repeated.

Addressing Trump’s comments, Dr. Ronit Levine-Schnur, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law, said that they were reflective of a new era in which some foreign leaders, including those of democratic countries, are leaning away from the values of democratic governance.

“Leaders who might be described as neo-democratic, like Trump, and post-autocratic, like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, now present themselves as champions of peace and prosperity, even while distancing themselves from the norms and values of liberal democracy,” said Levine-Schnur.

She said that this was the essential background to understanding Trump’s call for canceling Netanyahu’s trial.

“Just as Trump is unable to respect the independence of the American judiciary when it does not align with his unconstitutional ambitions, he likewise fails to grasp the principle of judicial independence in a system where all individuals — regardless of stature — are equal before the law.

“Israelis must remember that democracy is not a commodity for negotiation or sale — and that for us, the struggles for peace and democracy are aligned.”

Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel and a strong supporter of Trump, made similar comments about the importance of judicial independence in Israel.

“While the president of the United States is entitled to express his opinion, he must not interfere in ongoing legal proceedings in Israel,” said Zell. He claimed, though, that the legal proceedings against Netanyahu were “baseless and politically motivated” and that Trump had experienced similar treatment by the US Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists who have vociferously denounced Netanyahu for continuing to serve as prime minister while under indictment and on trial were scathing in their reaction to Trump’s comments.

“Netanyahu sold Israel as a protectorate of Trump in exchange for personal gestures,” alleged key pro-democracy activist Nava Rozolyo.

She accused Netanyahu of having gotten Trump to “incite against the Supreme Court and the legal system,” and alleged that in return for the prime minister fulfilling Trump’s demands regarding the military campaign against Iran, Trump agreed to “throw out a word about a ‘witch hunt’ against Netanyahu the defendant.”

Concluded Rozolyo of the two leaders: “An alliance of crazy dictators.”

And the Democratic Right organization, a liberal right-wing association, expressed concern in light of Trump’s comments that Netanyahu’s personal, legal problems might be influencing Israel’s foreign policy.

“As a society, we must not accept a situation in which diplomatic relations, security decisions, or diplomatic concessions are driven by motives that are not in the best interests of the state, but in the best interests of the individual,” says the organization.

“The basic principle is: The rule of law comes first. Even when it comes to a prime minister.”