Israeli opposition leader testifies

Netanyahu rival says prime minister pressed him on legislation that would benefit a Hollywood mogul.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s opposition leader testified Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to persuade him — twice — to back legislation that would have given a Hollywood mogul and personal pal millions of dollars in tax breaks.

But Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and major Netanyahu rival, remained unpersuaded, he said.

Lapid made the statements as he testified in Jerusalem in one of three corruption cases against Netanyahu.

The indictment alleges that Netanyahu abused his position to further the interests of Arnon Milchan, the Israeli founder of Hollywood production company New Regency, in exchange for gifts, representing a conflict between the premier’s public duties and personal friendship.

Netanyahu did personal favors for Milchan, including asking U.S. officials to extend Milchan’s green card and renewing Israeli regulations that exempted returnees from declaring foreign income, according to the indictment.

Lapid testified Monday that Milchan and his attorneys had tried without success to persuade him that extending the tax breaks for a decade would be good for Israel, local media reported. Then, Lapid testified, Netanyahu broached the matter with him twice — once at the prime minister’s residence and once outside a Cabinet meeting, according to the reports.

Lapid said he told Netanyahu the extention wasn’t going to happen. He said the prime minister responded by saying it was “a good law.”

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, denies claims of wrongdoing, asserting that he was not acting in Milchan’s personal interests and occasionally acted against them. He says his exchanges of gifts with Milchan were merely friendly gestures.

Milchan is expected to testify in the case in a video call from London, where he resides, this month.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that in 2013, Lapid, then finance minister, sought legal advice on the possibility of promoting legislation that would have benefited Milchan. Reportedly, Lapid said he replied, “No way” to Netanyahu and Milchan about the prospects for the legislation.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing.

Critics say Netanyahu is on a campaign to weaken the Israeli courts and change the judicial system in order to open an escape route from his trial — claims he dismisses.

The corruption charges have been at the center of a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years — each vote essentially a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule.

After losing power in 2021 to a coalition of opponents, Netanyahu returned as prime minister late last year, despite his legal problems.

Under Israeli law, the prime minister has no obligation to step aside while on trial.

The trial, which began in May 2020, has featured more than 40 prosecution witnesses, including some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants.

Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases but on sensational details about Netanyahu’s character and his family’s reputation for living off the largesse of taxpayers and wealthy supporters.