Herzog: ‘I'll do everything I can to prevent repeat elections’

President Isaac Herzog vowed to do everything in his power to prevent Israel from heading into another round of elections if the upcoming vote fails to produce a clear political outcome. "I'm doing everything I can to ensure Israel has a stable government," he said in an interview recorded ahead of Monday's People of the Nation conference, hosted by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. "But I'll go further than that: I will do absolutely everything I can to prevent repeat elections." Herzog warned that Israel faces enormous national challenges and cannot afford repeated election cycles. "We need to wait for the results rather than pass judgment in advance, but we must do everything possible to avoid going through this again and again and again," he said. In the wide-ranging interview, recorded several days before the conference and just over two weeks before Israel's elections, Herzog also renewed his call for a plea agreement to end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's criminal trial, warned that Israel's police force is overwhelmed and condemned violence by Jewish extremists against Palestinians in the West Bank as "an enormous moral stain" on the country. During the judicial overhaul, you called for compromise. Three and a half years later, Israel is just as polarized, perhaps even more so. Do you think we've reached a point of no return? "First of all, the danger is always there, and it remains very real. All it takes is one madman, and the danger becomes extremely serious. We're in an election period, and naturally, such a period is dangerous because it can lead to radicalization that could tear even deeper divisions into our society." Are you concerned that one side might refuse to accept the election results? "I believe everyone will accept the election results. I think Israeli citizens will go out and vote. I constantly urge Israelis to vote, and I remind everyone that elections are not a civil war. Elections are the way to resolve issues, make decisions and understand that the day after, we still go on together. Those who lose and those who win must all understand that they belong to the same people. Those who are elected must also look after those who were not." If the election ends in deadlock, will you try to promote a unity government? "I don't want to get into that right now. There are different opinions about the composition of the government and different political outlooks. Everyone understands which school of thought I come from, but it would not be right for me to say, two weeks before the election, what kind of government should be formed." Do you think a pardon could help ease tensions in Israel and perhaps make it possible to form a government if there is a deadlock? "The president has the full authority to task a member of Knesset with forming a government. That has nothing to do with pardons. After I hear from all the parties, in a process that the public will already be discussing because the results will come in about a week after the election, the consultations begin. "As for the pardon issue, you're referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial. I've already said, and I keep saying, that this case needs to end, and it should end with a plea agreement. It needs to be resolved through a settlement. "That's why I proposed mediation at the President's Residence a few months ago. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara hesitated but agreed to come into the room. I said it would take place under the auspices of the President's Residence. The prime minister has not responded to this day, and I repeat: I'm leaving the door open, all the time." Are you calling on the prime minister to accept your proposal? "I'm not issuing calls. I'm waiting for a response, but that's not the issue right now. We're in the middle of an election, and it's clear to me that this isn't relevant during the election process." Are you worried about the integrity of the elections and attempts to disrupt them? "I'm working closely with the Central Elections Committee. Just last week, I brought the heads of the major technology companies here, together with the committee's chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, and his excellent team. We assessed different situations, considered extreme scenarios and heard how each company is responding. "Even so, we must always consider the possibility that someone will try to sabotage the elections, whether from within Israel or from abroad. That's exactly what they're constantly working on, and they're doing so in a very impressive way." We're living through a period of apparent anarchy and a breakdown of law and order in so many areas: in the south, in crime within Arab society and in the Haredi community. Just in recent weeks, hundreds of Haredi activists came to free a military draft dodger and rioted in Modiin in the middle of the night, while about 100 Jewish extremists descended on a Palestinian home and set it on fire. They also try to attack IDF soldiers, who seem unable to stop them. "It's a miracle nobody was killed and there was no bloodshed. First of all, our police force is doing its best, but this country is a bit too much for it. We need a stronger police force and a much larger one because there are so many challenges here. "Crime in Arab society is a disaster. We're talking about more than 1.3 million citizens living under terror, morning and night. "The violence we saw in Modiin is intolerable. And what worries me most, what keeps me awake at night, is the violence we're seeing in the West Bank. It is an enormous stain on the face of the country, a moral stain. "I hear about it from everywhere in the world. People say to me, 'What's happened to you? Don't you know how to restrain groups of rioters?' These are groups of rioters. They don't represent the settlement movement itself or its values in any way. Yet, on the other hand, they're receiving tacit legitimacy. "I know the state institutions are taking action. But I personally went to the IDF's West Bank Division two weeks ago and sat down with the division commander and the brigade commanders." And what did you hear from them? "Deep frustration. They're facing extremely complicated situations. As one particularly impressive commander told me, 'I don't know whether someone speeding toward me in a car at night is a Palestinian coming to carry out a terrorist attack or a Jew coming to stage a provocation.' "The incident in Jalud was extraordinarily dangerous, and it wasn't an isolated incident. We're talking about rocks being thrown at commanders. "Innocent Palestinians must not be attacked, and actions of this kind cannot be allowed. The main thing that must be stated clearly is that the IDF and the security forces have achieved remarkable successes in fighting terrorism. "Their job there is to fight terrorism, yet they find themselves confronting an utterly intolerable reality. That requires all the relevant authorities to sit down together, develop a serious plan and bring the full power of the state to bear, including clear directives from the political leadership." Do you think administrative detention should be reinstated? "I think that possibility needs to be examined. There are certainly cases in which we need to know how to use that tool. If there's no alternative, there's no alternative. "We cannot continue allowing this phenomenon. It's eating away at the State of Israel and destroying everything good about its image around the world. "Last week, we marked three years since October 7. Around the world, people spoke about October 7, about the terrible disaster, what we went through and the barbaric, criminal terrorism. And then, inevitably, someone brings up an incident like this in the West Bank. That is unacceptable because this is not Israel. It's a phenomenon we can and must confront." Israel is facing an unprecedented international campaign against it. In some places, Israel has practically become a pariah. This isn't confined to a small minority, and it isn't just antisemitism. How are we supposed to confront this wave of hostility? "There's enormous antisemitism, so many engines of incitement and so much poison. But we have to confront this phenomenon by doing more than simply identifying the problems. We need to ask what the solutions are. "We must reach out to countries and companies, speak, make appearances, explain and show the beauty of Israel, its extraordinary achievements and its contribution to humanity. And, of course, we have to develop better public diplomacy tools. "We're the Startup Nation. We can do a much better job in this regard." What are you hearing from Jewish communities around the world? "I invest an enormous amount of effort in this, in maintaining connections, offering support and strengthening communities. "We need to understand that everything said and every action taken here, in the nation-state of the Jewish people, directly affects our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, Jewish communities, their security, their standing and their ability to make their voices heard. "They are threatened and challenged. This is a very complicated period for the Jewish people. At the same time, the Jewish people are demonstrating strength and resilience and fighting back. "I encourage everyone: Stand up, fight, make your voices heard. Don't be afraid." Within a few years, the Haredi education system is expected to become the largest in Israel. Does that worry you? And do you have deep relationships of trust with the Haredi community? "I cannot say that something relating to the composition of Israeli society worries me. This is Israeli society. It's a challenge we have the strength to address. "Take the issue of Haredi military enlistment, for example. On the eve of Tisha B'Av, I had the privilege of visiting the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade for the reading of Lamentations. I was moved because I saw Haredi soldiers, and I saw them in large numbers. "An interview with me was recently published in the brigade's newspaper, which was distributed to thousands of households. It's simply wrong to assume that the entire Haredi community thinks or acts the same way. But we have to talk. "There are trends we're identifying. There's a demographic trend, and we need to address it. We need to understand that things must change. I believe that future generations of Haredim won't be exactly the same as those today, just as citizens in other groups will also change. "We have no choice but to sit down together and build a shared future for our children and grandchildren. This is an amazing country, an amazing people, with extraordinary strength. I want to see everyone included, and that creates challenges. "For example, we need as much service by women in the IDF as possible, alongside the challenge of Haredi military service. We'll need to find the right balance and hold a respectful, serious discussion. "I think the people of Israel have had enough of the division and hatred within our society because it gets us nowhere. God forbid, it can lead to disasters. "That's why we must do everything possible. I'm doing everything I can and putting my entire heart and soul into it. People from every part of Israeli society are constantly coming to these rooms at the President's Residence. Sometimes they begin by shouting and almost coming to blows, and the meetings end with tears and embraces." There's a feeling in Israel that the very concept of taking responsibility has disappeared. That applies to the October 7 massacre and even to the attempted attack involving a flydubai aircraft. "I said this in my speech at Mount Herzl, about the need to investigate thoroughly, without fear or hesitation, and provide all the answers." Through a state commission of inquiry? "That issue is now the subject of a debate on the eve of the elections, about the composition of the commission and what kind of commission it should