Netanyahu’s public corruption trial begins today

First sitting head of government in history in defendants’ dock

After years of probes, immunity battles, High Court decisions and a coronavirus delay, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go down in history on Sunday at 3 p.m. as the first sitting prime minister to go on trial for public corruption.

Just as the indictment against Netanyahu, represented by Amit Hadad and Micha Fettman, was a major cause of the 18-month election-deadlock, the trial will hover as a cloud over virtually all major government decisions for the foreseeable future.

On Saturday night, Netanyahu’s lawyers filed a complaint with the state prosecution against Channel 13’s Raviv Drucker.

They said that by interviewing witnesses for the prosecution and presenting a threatening narrative of the legal consequences against any of those witnesses who recant their accusations against Netanyahu, that Drucker is interfering with the legal proceedings and potentially impacting the judges.

The complaint, like more than 100 others against the media, is not expected to lead to a criminal probe due to concerns for freedom of the press, though Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has criticized leaks to the press from law enforcement.

Key to Sunday’s hearing is how quickly or slowly the judges decide to move the trial forward. The trial schedule could have a huge impact on Netanyahu’s transfer of power to Blue and White’s Benny Gantz in November 2022, as well as what Netanyahu’s status will be after that transfer.

The other defendants are Bezeq and Walla owner Shaul Elovitch and his wife Iris (represented by Jacques Chen), as well as Yediot Aharonot owner Arnon “Noni” Mozes (represented by Navit Negev).

Netanyahu himself must physically attend after a court order regarding the issue on Wednesday, despite his request for an exemption from attending until a more substantive hearing.

The main courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court will be presided over by Judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am and Oded Shaham, and is also expected to include Deputy State Attorney Liat Ben Ari and senior prosecutor Yonatan Tadmor, the four defendants, one defense lawyer for each defendant and security for Netanyahu.

Ben Ari has also been given extra security protection due to threats against her and the prosecution in general.

In two adjacent courtrooms, there will be additional defense lawyers for the defendants, media and other related professionals involved.

Netanyahu’s legal team has not formally announced whether Hadad or Fettman will take the lead at Sunday’s hearing, but the speculation is that it will be Fettman.

Hadad has been with Netanyahu since the start of the case back when the lead lawyer was Hadad’s then-boss, Jacob Weinroth, but many other lawyers have been on and off of the team since Weinroth passed away in 2018.

Fettman was added to the team relatively recently, but has more years of experience than the telegenic Hadad.

Mandelblit announced on November 21, 2019 that he would indict Netanyahu for bribery in Case 4000, the Bezeq-Walla Affair, for breach of public trust in Case 1000, the Illegal Gifts Affair and for breach of public trust in Case 2000, the Yediot Aharonot-Israel Hayom Affair.

Due to fights over potential immunity, the Netanyahu indictment was not filed until January 28, and due to the election and the coronavirus crisis, the trial’s start date was delayed by several months.

In Case 4000, Netanyahu is accused of involvement in a media bribery scheme in which Walla owner Shaul Elovitch allegedly gave him positive coverage in exchange for Netanyahu making government policies favoring Elovitch’s Bezeq company to the tune of around NIS 1.8 billion.

This is the hardest case for Netanyahu since he faces accusations by two close former aides turned state witnesses, Shlomo Filber and Nir Hefetz.

In Case 1000, Netanyahu is accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels in gifts from rich tycoons, mostly from Arnon Milchan, in exchange for help with business and personal-legal initiatives.

The charge itself is for acting in situations in which the prime minister had a conflict of interest, since no actual quid pro quo can be proven.

The absence of a quid pro quo makes this case much weaker than Case 4000, but it is still viewed by most legal scholars as having at least a 50/50 chance.

Regarding Case 2000, Netanyahu was accused of working with Yediot and Israel Hayom to reduce the latter’s competition with the former in exchange for positive coverage for Netanyahu.

The deal never went through, but the law has crimes of attempted bribery and breach of trust which can apply even if a deal does not go through.

Mandelblit was never a fan of Case 2000, but decided he needed to charge Netanyahu with something once they indicted Yediot owner Arnon “Noni” Mozes with bribery. Sunday’s hearing will be mostly technical, with the lawyers fighting over whether the prosecution must transfer more documents to the defense, but the judges will also set a case schedule which will signal how fast the case will proceed. •

due to Mandelblit’s role in the Harpaz Affair.

The prime minister’s son, Yair Netanyahu, tweeted dozens of posts defending his father over the weekend.

“Everything is a show, and the game has been decided,” he tweeted. He also posted a picture of French-Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongly convicted and noted that he just discovered that his father has the picture in his office at the official residence.

“Witch hunt season officially begins tomorrow after 11 people have pursued 2 million people for a decade, and this will not be science fiction,” a post Yair Netanyahu retweeted said, referring to the 11 Supreme Court judges and the voters of right-wing parties.

Likud MK Fateen Mulla, who will be appointed a deputy minister on Monday, posted a spirited defense of the prime minister, which Yair Netanyahu retweeted.

“The trial of Prime Minister Netanyahu is the trial of me, you, her and us and our country that is more dear to us than gold,” Mulla wrote. “The Netanyahu trial is the trial of the Left and the haters of Israel against the rule of the Right and the nationalist camp and all those who are sane. It is against the historic and strong Israel that is only leading the world in many ways because of Netanyahu.” •

We will be prepared for all threats, and by any means.”

In a statement described as a response to Khamenei, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Those that invoke the threat of destruction against Israel put themselves in similar danger.”

Zeyad al-Nakhala, chief of PIJ, which has publicly admitted getting Iranian arms and funds, praised Khamenei’s comments. “We are ready for a long jihad and victory is granted,” he said in remarks distributed by the group.

Iranian officials have repeatedly called for an end to Israel, including by a referendum that would exclude most of its Jews while including Palestinians in the region and abroad.

Khamenei suggested global attention on the coronavirus crisis had helped obscure wrongs done to Palestinians. “The long-lasting virus of Zionists will be eliminated,” he added.

Iran canceled nationwide Quds Day rallies due to coronavirus. Iran is one of the most affected countries in the region with 7,300 deaths and a total of 131,652 infections.

Khamenei also denounced what he called treason by “political and cultural mercenaries in Muslim countries” helping Zionists to downplay the Palestine issue, an apparent reference to some Arab states including Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia. •

Jerusalem Post.

“The letter shows that there is a large group in the United States Senate who oppose this policy and are also willing to state the obvious – that if Israel is no longer committed to a two-state future, it will likely have an impact on the US-Israel relationship,” the senator added.

On May 6, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland implied in a conference call organized by the Jewish Democratic Council of America that he would not sign the letter. “I don’t like to second-guess Israel’s government decision,” he said.

“When you talk about annexation, I look at it in the context of how it advances the two-state solution, and I find unilateral actions not to be helpful [for that] process,” he said. “So, I have concerns about the annexation issue. I think that Israel is trying to implement a two-state solution unilaterally. I think there are risk factors about that.

“I would encourage them, instead, to try to preserve the process. But I don’t think it is helpful for us to sow dissension in the United States as it relates to the support for Israel,” Cardin addedA. “We have to show that even when we disagree with the policies of the government, the relationship between the US and Israel must remain strong.”

Democratic Majority for Israel President and CEO Mark Mellman said his organization opposes unilateral annexation, but the Senate Democrats letter “will be counterproductive in achieving its goals.”

“By focusing only on Israeli policies and not on Palestinian impediments to peace, nor on the failure of the Palestinian leadership to accept previous Israeli offers of statehood, the text also leaves a false impression and could send a dangerously misleading signal to Israel’s enemies,” Mellman added. “We are pleased that, in fact, every Senate Democrat is clearly on the record supporting both a strong US-Israel relationship and America’s role in ensuring Israel can defend itself, by itself.” •

THERE HAVE been attempts at rapprochement in the past. In 2016 a deal with Turkey was supposed to bury wounds from the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident when Turkish activists were killed on a cruise ship trying to break the blockade of Gaza.

In recent weeks the new Israeli government and shifts in Syria, as well as Turkey’s growing role in Libya, may have fed rumors about changes to come in Turkey-Israel relations.

Ostensibly these relations are still very cold because of Ankara’s views of Israel’s actions regarding the Palestinians. However, Ankara’s ally in Qatar has worked with Israel in the past regarding funding for Gaza.

Qatar and Turkey are hostile to Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and in recent years there have been perceptions in the Middle East that Israel, the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia share common interests relating to Iran and other factors.

In mid-May there were rumors on social media regarding Turkey’s role in the Mediterranean.

Turkey signed a deal with the Tripoli-based government. Libya is in the midst of a civil war and Ankara swept in to provide Tripoli much-needed assistance in exchange for an energy deal off the cost. Meanwhile, Israel was working on its pipeline deal with Cyprus and Greece, one that is linked to warming relations between Greece and Turkey as well.

Turkey is intensely hostile to the government of Cairo and they are on opposite sides in Libya. Would Turkey’s role in the Mediterranean cause Israel