Legal net tightens around Netanyahu
Discussion turns to agile political survivor’s possible demise
TEL AVIV — It has all the hallmarks of a classic political scandal: a combative leader’s forceful denials, family members and intimates caught up in burgeoning but slow-moving investigations, prosecutors leaning on a tarnished former aide with tales to tell, arcane legal arguments over power and its limits.
The setting is Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, viewed by foes and admirers alike as a consummate political survivor, faces the growing prospect of criminal charges that could ultimately dislodge him.
Even in a country where scandal is a near-constant backdrop to daily life and a notably high tolerance for political chaos is the national norm, there’s a sense that this long-brewing crisis has reached a crucial juncture.
Authorities are still building a case or cases against the prime minister, and legal experts say the filing of charges could still be months away. But events of recent days, analysts say, have dramatically heightened the eventual likelihood of an unprecedented public spectacle: the indictment of a sitting Israeli prime minister, the longest-serving since founding father David Ben-gurion.
Last week, police stated formally for the first time that Netanyahu was suspected of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. Then bombshell news broke: the prime minister’s Los Angeles-born former chief of staff Ari Harow, a onetime close confidant of the prime minister, had turned state’s witness to avoid jail time on charges stemming from his business dealings.
This week came reports that the attorney general would soon announce a separate indictment against the first lady, Sara Netanyahu, over alleged misuse of government funds. And the Supreme Court ruled that the prime minister would have to disclose logs of phone calls with senior executives of the pro-government newspaper Israel Hayom, founded and financed by U.S. billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.
Across the political spectrum, newspaper headlines not only sounded a common theme, but employed nearly identical wording. “How long might it take Net-