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Trump has degraded American democracy. Now he’s aiming for Israel
President Donald Trump is trying to persuade Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In doing so, he is asking Israel to become an illiberal state, rather than a democratic one — the same change he is working to bring to his own country.
In writing to Herzog earlier this week, Trump — himself a convicted felon on 34 counts — used the same conspiratorial rhetoric he has peddled in the United States to describe Netanyahu’s charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The case is a “political, unjustified prosecution,” he wrote. During a recent 60 Minutes interview, Trump said he would “be involved” in Netanyahu’s trial to “help him out.”
It would be a problem for any foreign government to seek to interfere in Israel’s domestic judicial system. But Trump’s overstep threatens to weaken Israel’s already fragile democracy by impugning the legitimacy of its legal system and insisting that the country’s prime minister is beyond accountability.
Herzog essentially rejected Trump’s request, but his response was tepid, stating that pardons must only be made “in accordance with established procedures.” He made no denunciation of foreign interference in Israel’s domestic affairs, no affirmation of the integrity of Israel’s judicial system and certainly no repudiation of Netanyahu’s relentless efforts to avoid his day in court, including by repeatedly seeking to have his hearings delayed.
Herzog should have. There are broad swaths of Israeli society that yearn to see Netanyahu brought to justice, not just on corruption charges, but also for the disastrous choices that helped prime the ground for the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023. But there are others, primarily among the far-right parties aligned with Netanyahu, who will seize upon any chance to help him extend his hold on power.
Already, the far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has urged Herzog to follow through on Trump’s request.
“The fabricated and disgraceful indictments against Prime Minister Netanyahu have long since turned into an indictment against the prosecution, whose disgrace and crimes are exposed in the trial every day,” Ben-Gvir tweeted. “A pardon in this case is the right and urgent thing to do. President Herzog, listen to President Trump!”
Dissuading Ben-Gvir and his ilk, and taking the firm stance that the process of justice must play out on its own terms, is essential. Because the fissures in Israel’s governmental system run far deeper than many realize — which works in Netanyahu’s favor.
The charges against Netanyahu have been methodically investigated by prosecutors over many years. He is accused of accepting some $300,000 in gifts to influence the country’s tax law, and discussing a quid pro quo for favorable coverage with both the news site Walla! and the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot.
Despite the evidence that supports these assertions, Netanyahu, mirroring Trump’s rhetoric, insists the prosecution is corrupt, and evidence that a liberal “deep state” controls the country — a move from the authoritarians’ playbook, designed to erode public trust in independent institutions.
Unfortunately, it’s working.
In 2025, Israeli researchers Asif Efrat and Omer Yair found that about one-third of Israelis believe Netanyahu’s unsubstantiated claims in a shadow rule over the country. Those numbers soar to roughly 50% among voters of Netanyahu’s current coalition.
Efrat and Yair see that data as a warning sign. Support for such conspiracies can “weaken public trust in the legal system, the bureaucracy, and the security forces,” they write. “It would allow the government to thwart the actions of these bodies and even take control of them.”
This is what Anne Applebaum, the award-winning journalist and historian, warns about in her book, Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism.
Applebaum describes how authoritarians take “major steps toward the destruction of independent institutions.” They harness more and more power by repeating conspiracy theories that embolden their desire to circumvent the rules.
Two years ago, during the country’s judicial overhaul uproar, Applebaum saw reason to fear Israel backsliding into “an undemocratic Israel, a de facto autocracy.” Netanyahu and his government responded at the time “in the way that all autocratic populists react to any challenge” — with intransigence, accusations of disloyalty and strategic circumvention.
In Trump’s view, pardoning the prime minister would ensure “his attention” is not “unnecessarily diverted.” Then, Netanyahu could “unite Israel” once and for all.
Even ignoring the fact that Netanyahu has never been a unifying figure, such a position overlooks the price Israeli democracy will pay by allowing its leader to flagrantly violate and disrespect its rules.
Netanyahu is not a figure who respects law, democracy, or checks and balances. Trump’s pushing for a pardon will only embolden his Israeli counterpart’s worst instincts.
Right now, as Israel recovers from a devastating two-year war and seeks to regain its international footing while paving a future for Gaza, the country cannot afford to spiral into a deeper anti-democratic crisis.
The people of Israel must stand against Trump and Netanyahu’s plot and reject any efforts to undermine the country’s liberal democracy.
Netanyahu has long tested the elasticity of Israeli democracy. Trump’s single-page letter could be the catalyst to push it past its breaking point.
The post Trump has degraded American democracy. Now he’s aiming for Israel appeared first on The Forward.
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Iran’s Soccer Federation ‘Negotiating’ With FIFA to Relocate World Cup Matches From US to Mexico
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw – John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, US – Dec. 5, 2025, General view as Draw Assistant Shaquille O’Neal draws Iran during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran’s soccer federation said on Monday it is “negotiating” with FIFA to relocate the Islamic Republic’s first-round matches in the 2026 World Cup to Mexico from the United States to ensure the safety of its players.
“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” said Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, in a statement shared on X by the Iranian Embassy in Mexico. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
The negotiations are taking place after the US and Israel launched joint airstrikes against Iran in late February, which led to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other high-ranking Iranian officials. Iran has since retaliated with attacks on Israel and US allies across the Middle East.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 11-July 19 in cities across the US, Canada and Mexico. Iran qualified for the 48-team tournament through its participation in the Asian Football Conference and is set to compete in Group G at the World Cup. Iran’s national soccer team is scheduled to compete against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, both in Los Angeles, before going head-to-head against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. Soccer fans from Iran are not allowed to enter the United States for the World Cup as part of a travel ban that the Trump administration imposed in June, but Iranian athletes and coaches are exempt from the ban.
Last week, US President Donald Trump wrote on the social media website Truth Social that Iran’s national soccer team is “welcome” to compete in World Cup, but he does not think “it is appropriate” for them to participate “for their own life and safety.”
The Iranian team responded to Trump’s post by saying in a statement on Telegram that a single person can not exclude a country from the World Cup. They also suggested the US “lacks the ability” to provide security for World Cup-participating teams.
“The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA — not any individual country. Iran’s national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament,” the statement said. “Certainly no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup. The only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event.”
However, Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali reportedly told state television it is “not possible” for the country to participate in the World Cup this year because of the US airstrikes on Iran. “Due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran — they have imposed two wars on us over just eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people — definitely it’s not possible for us to take part in the World Cup,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
Trump later posted again on social media about the World Cup. “The United States of America looks very much forward to hosting the FIFA World Cup. Ticket sales are ‘through the roof!’” he added. “It will be the Greatest and Safest Sporting Event in American History. All Players, Officials, and Fans will be treated like the ‘STARS’ that they are!”
FIFA President said in an Instagram post last week that he met with President Trump and the latter “reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.” FIFA Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi recently said the World Cup is “too big” to postpone amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. He added that the organization hopes “everyone can participate that has qualified.”
Meanwhile, the UEFA, Europe’s governing body of soccer, has cancelled the “Finalissima” match in Doha, Qatar, between Argentina and Spain’s national soccer teams following security concerns related to the ongoing war between Iran, Israel and the United States.
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Leqaa Kordia, the last Palestinian Columbia protester still in ICE detention, has been released
(JTA) — Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman and the last person still detained in the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests last spring, was released from ICE custody on Monday.
Kordia’s release came weeks after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani petitioned President Donald Trump in person on her behalf. Mamdani celebrated the development in a statement.
“In my meeting with President Trump last month, we discussed ICE’s actions at Columbia University. I asked that the federal government release Leqaa Kordia and drop the cases against four others,” he tweeted. “I am grateful that Leqaa has been released this evening from ICE custody after more than a year in detention for speaking up for Palestinian rights.”
Kordia, 33, who immigrated to New Jersey from the West Bank in 2016, had been held in a U.S. immigration detention center in Texas since last March after she was arrested for her involvement in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia in 2024. Kordia had overstayed her student visa and was never a student at Columbia.
On Friday, an immigration judge ordered her release on $100,000 bond. It was the third time that the judge had ordered her release, which was granted after the government declined to appeal.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m free! I’m free! Finally, after one year,” Kordia told reporters after being released from the detention center.
Kordia was among a number of people arrested last spring amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on noncitizens who had participated in anti-Israel protests, some of which drew allegations of antisemitism, on university campuses.
Among those arrested was Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate whose release Mamdani also called for. Earlier this month, Khalil broke the Ramadan fast at Gracie Mansion with Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji. Duwaji, whose pro-Palestinian social media posts have increasingly drawn scrutiny, also celebrated Kordia’s release on Instagram.
The post Leqaa Kordia, the last Palestinian Columbia protester still in ICE detention, has been released appeared first on The Forward.
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For the first time ever, NBA game features 3 Jews — Deni Avdija, Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf
(JTA) — BROOKLYN — The Barclays Center had the energy of a bar mitzvah party on Monday night, as kippah-clad basketball fans and kids waving posters with Hebrew words of encouragement came to cheer on an NBA first: a game featuring three Jewish players — all Israeli citizens.
The Brooklyn Nets were hosting the Portland Trail Blazers — whose forward Deni Avdija recently became the first Israeli All-Star in the league.
He joined Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, two Jewish players who have galvanized the Nets’ Jewish fanbase since joining the team this year. Saraf was raised in Israel and got his start in basketball there, while Wolf grew up in Illinois and secured Israeli citizenship to play for Team Israel in international competitions.
Avdija, who normally averages about 25 points per game, struggled to find a rhythm on Monday night, as did Wolf, who has intrigued scouts with the ball handling skills of a point guard despite his nearly 7-foot height. But Saraf impressed, scoring 15 points and notching four assists and four steals in 24 minutes of play.
Saraf’s efforts were not enough to buoy his team, though, and the Nets lost to the Trail Blazers, 114-95.
That hardly dimmed the enthusiasm of the crowd, who thrilled at seeing Avdija and Saraf hug on the court before the game and exchange jerseys after the game in a show of respect and friendship.
Some draped in shawls printed with a fusion of the Israeli and American flags lingered court-side for a chance to get Avdija’s attention. At times when the game was quiet, some fans could be heard shouting “Deni! Deni!” Some wore hats with “Brooklyn Nets” spelled in Hebrew.
Avdija said in a postgame press conference that he had been surprised to see the arena sold out and that the energy reminded him of the Menora arena when he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“I haven’t fully processed it yet,” he said about the significance of having three Israelis on the court. “It’s tough that many people from Israel couldn’t come because of the war. I hope everyone is okay. Representing on the biggest stage — it’s emotional for me and for many others. One of the most fun nights I’ve had.”
Saraf, too, said the game was a highlight for him.
“A very emotional night. It’s too bad that we lost, but it’s bigger than that. The number of Jewish and Israeli fans here — when Deni was introduced, the whole crowd stood up. Every basket, it was emotional for me, for Danny Wolf, for everyone. It was a big event.”
He added, “Three Israelis on the court at the same time was something very special.”
It is possible that the trio represents not just all of the Israeli citizens but all of the Jews currently playing in the NBA. A fourth player was reportedly exploring converting to Judaism, but he has not publicly disclosed whether he completed a conversion.
The previous record for number of Israelis in an NBA game was two. It came on Oct. 30, 2023, when Omri Casspi and the Houston Rockets played the Dallas Mavericks and Gal Mekel, whom the Mavs had recently picked up, made his debut with the team. They were the first and second Israelis in the NBA.
The game also appears to tie the league record for the number of Jews in a single game, set on Nov. 10, 1953. In that game, Dolph Schayes scored 11 points for the Syracuse Nationals, while Irv Bemoras and Red Holzman both took the court for the Milwaukee Hawks.
The post For the first time ever, NBA game features 3 Jews — Deni Avdija, Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf appeared first on The Forward.