Minister Eliyahu Invokes "Bus 300" Precedent in Powerful Appeal for Netanyahu Pardon

Marking the anniversary of President Chaim Herzog’s passing, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu urges current President Isaac Herzog to follow his father’s courageous lead and end the legal proceedings against the Prime Minister Netanyahu to "heal the nation."

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu issued a direct appeal to President Isaac Herzog this Saturday after Shabbat, calling for a presidential pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the minister himself wrote and sent to the Israeli president office last week. The poignant social media post was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the passing of the President’s father, Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog.

The Minister drew a detailed parallel between the current political and legal polarization in Israel and the infamous "Bus 300 affair" of 1984, a crisis that threatened to dismantle Israel’s security establishment until President Chaim Herzog intervened.

The Shadow of Bus 300

Eliyahu recounted the events of April 1984, when four terrorists hijacked an Egged bus traveling from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon. While two hijackers were killed during the rescue by Sayeret Matkal, two others were captured alive and subsequently executed by Shin Bet agents on orders from leadership.

The revelation of the executions sparked a national firestorm, leading to investigations and demands for prosecutions that "tore the Israeli public in two," Eliyahu noted. At the height of the crisis, President Chaim Herzog granted immediate pardons to the Shin Bet officials involved before they were even indicted.

"President Herzog did not let legal procedure imprison those who protected the state," Eliyahu wrote. "He knew that sometimes extreme justice is a cry of injustice. He exercised his authority for moments when the question is not 'guilty or innocent,' but rather: what is the public interest?"

A Call for Leadership

Turning to the present, Minister Eliyahu argued that President Isaac Herzog now stands at a similar historic crossroads. He criticized the ongoing trial of Prime Minister Netanyahu, noting that even the judges have hinted at the difficulty of proving the bribery charges, yet the State Attorney’s office remains steadfast.

"The price of this refusal is a Prime Minister who must divide his time between the War Cabinet and the courtroom," Eliyahu stated. "A nation bleeding from within and without, and legal actions that clearly contradict the public interest."

"A Higher Justice"

The Minister concluded his appeal by urging the President to ignore "background noise from the fringes of society" and prioritize national unity over legal technicalities.

"Your father knew that pardon is not a waiver of justice, but a recognition of a higher justice—the justice of an entire nation that must continue to function," Eliyahu wrote. "Your father brought a ladder when the system refused to climb down from the tree. Tonight, the ball is in your court."

The President's office has acknowledged the 17-page formal recommendation submitted by the Minister earlier last week, which is currently under legal review.