Leader or defendant?

With regard to “Shooting somebody on Fifth Avenue” (Editor’s Notes, March 16), having followed the latest news on the cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I have concluded that the police cases are cobwebs – if they ever come to court, they will fall apart. I also believe that the police know this but don’t care – their primary objective is to try the cases in the court of public opinion.

The constant leaks and theatrical arrests in the middle of the night for no valid reason demonstrate this. Even the numbers assigned to the cases – 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 – were designed to influence the public. It’s much easier to remember a number like 2000 than, say, 523. What happened to the 999 numbers between 1000 and 2000?

It is now clear that this has failed because the Israeli public has little faith in the honesty or impartiality of the police and the legal establishment. It is unimpressed by the flamboyant announcements and constant barrage by the leftist media. The clowns no longer have any credibility. What should happen now? First, these unjustified high-profile cases should be dismissed. Second, although there is no evidence of bribery, the prime minister did accept valuable presents, which is unseemly and clearly illegal.

Mr. Netanyahu should be fined a substantial sum, say double the value of the gifts he accepted. He should then announce that if he is still prime minister in four years’ time, he will resign and hand the reins over to his successor.

This would enable him to bring all the right-wing splinter parties back into the Likud fold because their leaders will be anxious to be seen as his successor. Instead of plotting his downfall, they will have a strong interest in the success of the government he leads.

These developments would restore a measure of stability and effectiveness to the Israeli polity. STEPHEN COHEN Ma’aleh Adumim

Yaakov Katz writes: “But let us be clear: Israel was strong before Netanyahu, and Israel will be strong after Netanyahu.” Yet he completely misses the main point – Iran.

Being strong is not enough. An Israeli leader has to understand the nature of the Iranian threat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only Israeli leader who understands the nature and, consequently, the magnitude of the Iranian threat. He is the only one who was briefed by Bernard Lewis. Haaretz journalist Ari Shavit wrote in 2012:

“A few years ago, Netanyahu held an in-depth discussion with Middle East expert Bernard Lewis. At the end of the talk, he was convinced that if the ayatollahs obtained nuclear weapons, they would use them. Since that day, Netanyahu seems convinced that we are living out a rerun of the 1930s.”

Mr. Netanyahu is also the only leader in the world who quoted Mr. Lewis’s warning: “For people with this mindset, MAD [mutually assured destruction] is not a constraint; it is an inducement .... ”

Former IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon used to be the other Israeli leader who was aware of the eschatological threat from Iranian “twelvers.” Then he became a politician and started contradicting himself. So now, only Bibi is left. MLADEN ANDRIJASEVIC Beersheba