(Also published in Hebrew in ramatgannet.co.il, and in Givatayimnet.co.il newspaper in Israel)
On October 20, 2025, President Herzog declared from the podium of the Knesset that his heart was “bleeding” because the President of the Supreme Court was not introduced (at the Knesset session with U.S. President Trump) as “President of the Supreme Court,” but merely as a Supreme Court Justice!
Herzog had a programmatic speech prepared to deliver before the Knesset at this festive session. Yet he chose not to deliver it. Instead of giving the speech that a president is obliged to present at the opening of the Knesset session, President Herzog preferred to scold Speaker Ohana and the government ministers, staging a dramatic performance of “My heart bleeds”!
This is the same president who awarded honors to the “Brothers in Arms” movement and did not condemn the acts of refusal before October 7 (to be precise, he condemned refusal only in an interview with Channel 14, and only after the outbreak of the war)
This is a farce and a degradation of the dignity of the presidency! Such a statement before the Knesset and before the guest of honor, President Trump, is nothing but a descent to the level of a mediocre politician. If the President of Israel does not respect his own office, what will his opponents say?
President Herzog knows very well that Justice Amit committed building violations, and lied by claiming he had permits for construction deviations when none existed. Moreover, Amit misled the Tel Aviv court by presenting himself under his birth name, Gottfreund, in legal proceedings concerning property jointly owned with his brother. In the lawsuit, Amit used a different signature than his daily one—this is fraud! All of Amit’s conduct was reported in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, which Herzog surely reads
At the same time, Justice Amit presided over other cases involving lawyers who represented him in his own legal proceedings, without informing the court administration. Since Amit did not appear personally and authorized his brother to represent him, no one realized that Amit was in fact Gottfreund, acting in blatant conflict of interest! (Conflict of interest is a criminal offense of fraud and breach of trust)
Curiously, the President’s heart does not bleed when the Prime Minister is dragged through bizarre trials with the political aim of ousting him! His heart does not bleed when the Prime Minister must appear in court four times a week while Israel fights for its survival!
In my view, there is no blood in the President’s heart, but other substances which, out of respect, I will not name here.
At that same Knesset session, President Trump turned to Herzog and requested, at that solemn moment, to pardon the Prime Minister. Herzog’s heart did not bleed! It is a heart of stone! It is also flawed thinking to believe that President Trump will forgive him.
President Trump waited several weeks and then sent Herzog an official request to pardon the Prime Minister. For those following Trump’s moves, it is clear this was the second stage of his plan
In my opinion, there will be a third stage, in which Trump’s request will become an ultimatum demanding the immediate end of Netanyahu’s trial. In the fourth stage, Trump will forbid Herzog and his family from entering the United States and order the freezing of Herzog’s bank accounts and credit cards.
Does this sound far-fetched? Look at what happened to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro!
This would be a humiliating slap in the face to Herzog, to Israel, and to the presidency itself. But it is foreseeable and obvious, and only someone with a heart of stone and a head full of political calculations fails to see the slope he is on.
President Herzog is a political figure calculating his path to lead the left-wing parties after his presidential term ends. Does he not realize that personal damage to “Isaac Herzog” will distance him from any political role in Israel?
We have no choice but to appeal to President Herzog and ask him to spare Israel disgrace and anguish, and to comply with the request of the President of the United States while it is still in his hands.
President Herzog, do not confront the President of the United States!!
Dr. Yeshayahu (Yishi) Bick yishybick@gmail.com November 13, 2025
