Should Israel Pardon Bibi? The AI Cure for Deafness. Plus. . . Trump’s latest lawfare effort falls flat. A debate on the ethics of designer babies. And much more.
For some Israelis, pardoning Bibi would bring the country back together. For others, it would be a betrayal of the rule of law. (Michael Brochstein via Sipa USA)
It’s Tuesday, December 2. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: How Trump’s latest lawfare efforts backfired. The end of deafness could be nearer than you think. Is designing your baby’s genes unethical—or a moral imperative? But first: Will Israel pardon Bibi? Presidential pardons have become a routine part of American political life. When Joe Biden pardoned members of his family just before leaving office, the outrage lasted only as long as it took for Trump to pardon hundreds of people for their actions on January 6. In Israel, however, presidential pardons are a lot rarer, and they come with strings attached. That is why the news that Benjamin Netanyahu has formally requested a pardon is so seismic. For more than five years, and throughout the war against Hamas, the Israeli prime minister has been appearing in court—sometimes as often as three times a week—to defend himself against charges of corruption. But on Sunday, Netanyahu wrote to the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, and said that while he was personally willing to keep fighting to clear his name, he thinks it’s time for the nation to move on. For some Israelis, a pardon would be akin to a Nixon moment, drawing a line and bringing the country back together. But for others, it would be a blow to the rule of law—and a favor to a man they see as irredeemably corrosive to the nation’s politics. Today, Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., breaks down what a potential pardon would mean for Netanyahu, Israeli society, and the country’s soul. —Josh Kaplan
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