The Justice Ministry on Tuesday scrambled to deflect criticism after Israeli media aired a secretly recorded conversation in which Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman appeared to advise a right-wing organization on how to obtain presidential pardons for Jewish security prisoners. The recording, obtained by Israels Channel 2 television station and broadcast Tuesday, ostensibly documents a meeting at Neemans office in the run-up to the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. That swap, often called the most lopsided in Israeli history, saw 1,027 Palestinian security prisoners freed in exchange for the Israeli soldier. During the meeting, representatives of Honenu (Have mercy on us), an NGO that champions the rights of right-wing activists, asked the minister to release Jewish prisoners who had committed crimes against Arabs. Among the prisoners the group had apparently asked to have released were convicted killers of Palestinians. Any clemency request that reaches the minister is reviewed by professional echelons at the Justice Ministry, read a statement issued by a ministry spokesperson Tuesday. The Israeli president enjoys full discretion on pardons, but the president usually sends all requests for further review to the Justice Ministry, and makes his decision only after the justice minister issues a recommendation. In the recording, Neeman could be heard saying, I have already communicated what the solutions are, but they [right-wing lobbying groups] are pursuing a path that runs contrary to my advice. I said that pardon requests should not be bundled together but submitted individually. For a pardon request to be forwarded to the president, it has to cite specific reasons for pardon that are germane to that particular applicant. I would sign off on any request that is eventually approved by the president. In the recording, one of the group members asked Neeman, Has this been the case with the Arabs- referring to the allegedly expedited handling of some 1,000 pardon requests just days before the Schalit deal. Neeman responded by saying that the unusual mass pardons had deviated from standard procedure because with the Arab prisoners, the decision [to grant pardons] was made by the political echelons. He warned that a similar approach to secure the release of Jewish prisoners might not hold up in court. You want us to approve the pardons [for right-wing prisoners] as a political move. A High Court of Justice petition would immediately follow. Why are you making such mistakes? You have been provided with all the necessary guidance on how to solve this matter. I suggest you cite individual reasons [when requesting pardons] rather than have your requests be based on political or social grounds. This is the only viable course of action. Peace Now General Director Yariv Oppenheimer lambasted Neeman Tuesday after the recording surfaced. The prime minister should immediately fire the justice minister because of the conflict of interest he has created for himself. Someone who calls prison sentences for murderers a problem is unfit to serve as Israels justice minister, Oppenheimer said.
