Herzog cancels meeting with Yair Golan after remarks on choosing loyalty to state or PM

President Isaac Herzog canceled a meeting with Democrats party chair Yair Golan Tuesday after the left-wing lawmaker exhorted him to be “loyal” to the state rather than to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by granting his pardon request without an admission of guilt.

In a Monday statement, Golan addressed the president directly, saying, “You, who grew up in the political home of Ben-Gurion, of Rabin, a home where the rule of law was sacred, you must decide: Are you loyal to the state and the law, or are you ‘keeping Netanyahu united?’”

Golan was referencing an infamous gaffe Herzog made during an impromptu live television debate with Netanyahu when they ran as rivals in the 2015 election. Herzog, meaning to say he would keep Jerusalem united if elected prime minister, accidentally vowed then to “keep Netanyahu united,” to snickers from the premier and much media ridicule.

Golan added, “I know that your father, President Chaim Herzog, would have kicked Netanyahu out the door, without hesitation and without blinking.”

Channel 12 reported that the president canceled the planned meeting in protest of the “violent and insulting discourse.”

Speaking to the network, Golan did not apologize for his remarks.

“I respect the president, but given the worrying signs on the pardon issue… one must have a clear and staunch position,” he said. “We expect the president to defend Israel’s laws, its institutions, its representatives and the judicial branch.”

He said “it’s time to tell ourselves and everyone, Israel is at a fateful hour. We must fight for the future of Israel as a democratic and free country.”

Golan added: “My sole intention toward the president was to say this is an emergency and we all have the duty — the first citizen and every other citizen — to fight for Israel’s future.”

He said a new meeting had not been scheduled.

Netanyahu submitted a formal pardon request to Herzog on Sunday, seeking an end to his long-running and unprecedented corruption trial. Netanyahu did not admit guilt and, in a video statement, continued to contest the charges against him and the legitimacy of the process by which he was indicted. He also did not indicate any readiness to step down as prime minister, arguing that, if he were pardoned, he would be free to more effectively advance Israel’s interests.

He further argued that the trial was tearing Israel apart and that its immediate conclusion “would greatly help lower the flames and promote broad reconciliation.”

Herzog said Monday that he would consider “only the good of the country” in his decision and that the request “will be handled in the most proper and precise way.”

He said Netanyahu’s request “unsettles many people in this country, across different communities, and [it] sparks debate.” But the president stressed that “one thing is clear to me — violent discourse does not influence me.

“On the contrary, respectful discourse certainly stimulates discussion and dialogue,” said Herzog, inviting members of the public to visit the President’s Residence’s official website “to express their opinion and respond accordingly.”

The president is expected to take several weeks before reaching a decision.

Netanyahu is charged with one count of bribery and three counts each of fraud and breach of trust, in three separate cases. The charges relate to allegations of improper manipulation of the press and receiving illicit gifts in return for government favors. He denies any wrongdoing and has argued that the charges were fabricated in an attempted political coup by the police and state prosecution.