Getting ugly, again

One might think that with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial set to begin in Jerusalem District Court on May 24, now would be the time to brush up on what exactly he is accused of.

One might think that with the upcoming trial sure to dominate the national discourse for months, this would be the time to review the whole affair – take a look at cases 1000, 2000 and 4000 – and reacquaint oneself with some of the other key figures involved: Arnon Milchan, James Packer, Noni Mozes and Shaul Elovitch. Especially Elovitch, the former owner of the Bezeq Group and of the

Walla! media website whom Netanyahu – in his capacity as communications minister – is accused of benefiting to the tune of hundreds of millions of shekels in return for positive media coverage.

But before delving into those cases, it might be wise to refresh oneself with the details of another affair that burst back onto the stage on Friday night: the Harpaz Affair, which will heavily impact public opinion before and around the Netanyahu trial.

That’s right, the Harpaz Affair, that dizzying, confusing, convoluted affair that began with a conflict between then defense minister Ehud Barak and the IDF chief of staff at the time, Gabi Ashkenazi, in 2010.

The two, at odds over who deserved credit for Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, then battled over whether Ashkenazi’s term would be extended by a year, and when it was not, who would replace him. Barak wanted Yoav Galant; Ashkenazi very much did not, preferring instead Gadi Eizenkot.

Enter Boaz Harpaz, a reserve

intelligence officer and associate of Ashkenazi, who faked a document to make it look like Barak’s camp cooked up a smear campaign to discredit Ashkenazi and get Galant appointed. The army’s chief lawyer at the time was Avichai Mandelblit, who came under suspicion for not being straightforward about everything he knew about the document, and when.

While Harpaz was formally indicted in 2016, the police recommendation to indict Ashkenazi, Mandelblit and two of Ashkenazi’s close confidants, former IDF spokesman Avi Benayahu and former aide Erez Weiner, was not accepted by then attorney-general Yehuda Weinstein, who opted to close the case. The High Court of Justice later ruled that Mandelblit did nothing wrong in the way he dealt with the matter.

Last year, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted Harpaz of forging a document and sentenced him to 220 hours of community service. Case closed? Not a