Analysis by Dana El Khoury, Contributor

November 9th, 2020

On November 21, 2019, israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has dominated major roles in the israeli political scope such as Chairman of the Likud – National Liberal Movement, had been found guilty of fraud, bribery and a breach of trust in 3 cases (1000, 2000, and 4000). The investigation process into the criminal accusations on Netanyahu has given rise to civil unrest within israel since 2017, as protestors took it upon themselves to gather in the streets as they believed Avichai Mandelblit, Attorney General, was meddling with the investigation to help Netanyahu (Raanan Ben-Zur, 2017). The protests extended into 2020, amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. People gathered 2 meters apart in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square against the corruption within the government (Khalil, 2020). The israeli reaction towards the Prime Minister’s corruption cases has been one that has pushed them to take to the streets for a span of 3 years. Such reaction begs the question: What has Netanyahu done to vex his people this extensively?

In case 1000, Netanyahu is accused of accepting luxurious presents given to him and his wife by wealthy associates, Arnon Milchan and James Packer, in return for favours. These favours required an individual in a position of power and one with broad connections to be fulfilled – which is why Netanyahu was the perfect candidate. The barter of presents, cigar boxes and champagne cases roughly worth $198,000, in exchange for favours was the first crime the PM was accused of fraudulent behaviour and a breach of trust.

Case 2000 also falls under the fraud and breach of trust umbrella, as Netanyahu conspired to pass a legislation that would be favourable to an associate’s newspaper, Arnon Mozes’ Yedioth Ahronoth, leading newspaper in israel, in exchange for the latter’s employment of journalists that would propagate news advocating Netanyahu.

As for case 4000, which is considered the most serious crime among the 3 cases, it involves an alleged bribery by Netanyahu, during his days as communicator minister, with businessman Shaul Elovitch, shareholder in the largest telecommunications firm in Bezeq, which also owned Walla, a news website. He took regulatory steps to aid this businessman in return for coverage in Walla (Bandel, 2020). 

Netanyahu’s indictment forced him to relinquish his ministerial portfolios legally, aside from PM. He proceeded by submitting a request for immunity on the 1st of January 2020 (staff et al., 2020). However, due to the partially dissolved Knesset – which is the unicameral israeli legislative body – immunity could not be granted until the March elections. On the 12th of that month, Eyal Yinon, the legal advisor of the Knesset, opted for the formation of a committee to deliberate the immunity plea by Netanyahu, which comprised 30 members, with a majority belonging to opposing parties of the PM. Consequently, on the 28th, Netanyahu withdrew his immunity bid, confirming the charges against him (Jerusalem, 2020). 

Netanyahu’s trial was set to start on the 17th of March in the Jerusalem District Court. But on the 9th, he requested a 45-day delay of the trial, which was rejected the following day (Staff et al., 2020). However, on the 15th, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, trial was postponed to the 24th of May ( Barghoti, 2020). 

The first hearing took place on the 24th of May, as scheduled, with Netanyahu attending, as well as three defendants who were accomplices in his corruption cases. The judges read the charges to the defendants, received confirmation that the defendants understood the charges, before a discussion takes place between all present parties – from attorneys to prosecutors to judges – to agree upon a time to start the evidentiary phase of trial. The PM was granted the right to not be present in the next court session, and that his presence will only be required during the evidentiary stage begins, which is not expected to take place before 2021 (Graham et al., 2020). 

The second hearing occurred on the 19th of July, with the sole purpose of confirm the prosecution and defence have studied investigative evidence and agree upon further details regarding the evidentiary stage. Netanyahu’s defence team attempted to delay the trial with the pandemic excuse, but it was rejected immediately. As well, it was ruled that the prosecution would start with case presentation in January 2021, along with testifying witnesses attending three times per week. Moreover, it was ruled that Netanyahu would have to be present for this stage of the trial. On the 26th of July, the court set the date for the preliminary hearing of the trial, which is to take place on the 6th of December, and obligated the PM to be present (Bob, 2020). 

Former israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was also accused of bribery and corruption charges, which drove him to resign from his position as Prime Minister. He was later proven guilty, and was expected to serve a 27-month sentence in prison. However, he was released on parole after having served two-thirds of his sentence (BBC, 2017). When comparing Olmert’s behaviour towards the charges with that of Netanyahu – and noting that the latter’s crimes are more severe and his conviction on his three charges would land him over a decade in prison – it comes to show the divergence in approaches each individual adopted. When Olmert was accused of his crimes, he declared that he was proud to be an israeli citizen, as the law pursues justice in every and all cases, irrespective of an individual’s position. He was proud to be from a country where the law does not distinguish between a Prime Minister and a civilian (Olmert, 2008).

Contrary to Olmert’s approach, Netanyahu’s reaction portrayed that he deemed the charges as insulting to him, being the Prime Minister, positioning himself as an individual above the law. He lashed out against the Judicial Committee during his hearing in May, accusing the police and prosecutors of attempting to depose him, and of contaminating and inflating the evidence against him (Lynfield, 2020).

There are contradicting positions with regards to the nature of Netanyahu’s character: is he an honest man who is defending himself against false accusations, or is he a condescending, narcissist who is too self-absorbed and too proud to own up to his crimes as Olmert has?

The answer to this question will begin uncovering itself starting December the 6th, as Netanyahu will have to face his preliminary hearing of the trial, which will eventually expose the Prime Minister to his crimes, if guilty. There is no indication as to whether or not Netanyahu will eventually be proven guilty, but his reaction to the charges have me banking on a conviction. 

References

Bandel, N. (2020, January 28). Netanyahu charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, capping a dramatic political year. Retrieved from https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/netanyahu-charged-bribery-fraud-corruption-israel-election-1.8137771 

Barghoti, A. S. (2020). Israel: Netanyahu's trial postponed over coronavirus. Retrieved from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-netanyahus-trial-postponed-over-coronavirus/1766704 

BBC. (2017, July 02). Ehud Olmert, Israel's jailed ex-PM, is released early. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40472158 

Bob, Y. J. (2020, July 19). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bribery trial resumes. Retrieved from https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/second-hearing-of-prime-minister-netanyahus-trial-to-occur-on-sunday-635536 

Graham, A., By, -, Amanda GrahamNews staff at The Eastern Herald. Writing and publishing news on the economy, Graham, A., & News staff at The Eastern Herald. Writing and publishing news on the economy. (2020, May 24). Israel: The first hearing of Netanyahu in corruption charges has ended. Retrieved from https://www.easternherald.com/gov-pol/netanyahu-first-hearing-corruption-65159/ 

Jerusalem, R. (2020, January 28). Netanyahu indicted in court after removing immunity request. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/28/netanyahu-withdraws-immunity-from-prosecution-request 

Khalil, Z. (2020). Israelis protest against Netanyahu despite lockdown. Retrieved from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israelis-protest-against-netanyahu-despite-lockdown/1998146 

Lynfield, B. (2020, May 24). Netanyahu slams 'false, trumped up' charges against him during first session of landmark corruption trial. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/benjamin-netanyahu-trial-corruption-israel-jerusalem-court-today-a9530326.html 

Olmert, E. (2008). Full text of speech / 'I regret my mistakes'. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20121023112331/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/full-text-of-speech-i-regret-my-mistakes-1.250899 

Raanan Ben-Zur, S. (2017, August 13). Anti-corruption protests continue for 38th week outside AG's home. Retrieved from https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5001845,00.html 

Staff, R., Jeffay, N., Boxerman, A., Staff, T., Staff, A., Afp, . . . Cramer, P. (2020, March 09). Netanyahu formally requests delay of his corruption trial for 45 days. Retrieved from https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-formally-requests-delay-of-corruption-trial-for-45-days/ 

Staff, T., Staff, A., Afp, Jeffay, N., Solomon, S., Ahren, R., . . . Cramer, P. (2020, January 01). Netanyahu asks Knesset for immunity from prosecution, delaying indictment. Retrieved from https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-announces-he-is-asking-knesset-for-immunity-from-prosecution/