Israeli PM Netanyahu turns to rich friend to fund corruption trial fees

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for accepting gifts from wealthy friends.

But that has not stopped him from seeking another gift from a wealthy friend to pay for his multimillion-dollar legal defense.

The awkward arrangement opens a window into the very ties with billionaire friends that plunged Netanyahu into legal trouble and sheds light on the intersection of money and Israeli politics.

Netanyahu has asked an

Israeli oversight committee to allow a 10 million shekel ( 2.9 million) donation from Spencer Partrich, a Michigan-based real estate magnate, to fund his legal defense.

Because Partrich also happens to be a witness in one of the cases, the committee has asked the country's attorney general for his opinion on the matter. The request for financial aid from a friend is not illegal, and Israeli politicians have a long tradition of hobnobbing with wealthy Jewish supporters abroad. But to some, the optics of Netanyahu's request are sketchy.

It is a problem that we have prime ministers who have ties to moguls, said Tomer Naor, of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good governance group.

When the borders blur, you are blinded by the big money. You want more of it. Then all of a sudden the friend asks for a little favour and that poses a problem.

Last month, Netanyahu's trial on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes opened in a Jerusalem court. It is scheduled to resume next month.

The accusations include accepting some 200,000 in gifts such as cigars and champagne from two billionaires, Hollywood-based Israeli movie mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian magnate James Packer.

Netanyahu is also accused of offering to push legislation benefiting powerful Israeli media moguls in exchange for more positive coverage in their publications.