Will Israel allow Netanyahu to be a leader above the law?
Benjamin Netanyahu has asked for two more weeks to undermine democracy in Israel.
Wednesday marked the end of the 28-day period Netanyahu received from President Reuven Rivlin to form a government after national elections on April 9. It would be Netanyahu’s fifth term as prime minister. Netanyahu, though, hasn’t obtained enough commitments for a majority. So
Rivlin granted him a 14-day extension.
The holdup stems from Netanyahu’s effort to secure a coalition that would approve a law immunizing the prime minister from what could be three indictments on public corruption charges. As one commentator put it, Israel could get not just its most right-wing government in history but an “immunity coalition.”
Netanyahu proposes a law that would allow the Knesset – Israel’s legislative body – to overrule by simple majority decisions from the High Court of Justice. If the court struck down a law granting Netanyahu immunity, the Knesset could ignore the ruling.
Ultra-Orthodox parties reportedly would shield Netanyahu – for a price. It could be Netanyahu agreeing to exempt ultra-Orthodox men from the military draft that otherwise covers all Israelis. It could be Netanyahu agreeing to close all businesses on the Jewish Sabbath. It could be Netanyahu agreeing to annex West Bank settlements, which he promised at the end of his campaign.
Or it could be all three. Whatever the choice or combination, the result would impose more Jewish law in what has been a secular democracy and further alienate most American Jews from Israel.
On Monday, opposition leader Benny Gantz called the immunity law “a threat to the functioning of the democratic system and its legal and constitutional institutions.” Another opposition Knesset member said the law would be a “fatal blow to Israeli democracy.”
Netanyahu’s critics compare him unfavorably to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, the emerging dictator whose new powers allow him to intervene in the country’s legal system. Netanyahu responds that he merely wants to “restore balance” among the branches of government. He blames the media for trying to “sow fear” about the bill.
In fact, fear about the law is justified. But Netanyahu is more fearful about his own future.
One corruption case alleges that the prime minister illegally received gifts from business owners. Another alleges that Netanyahu told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that he would weaken the power of Israel Hayom – the free publication bankrolled by American casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson – in exchange for favorable coverage.
The third case, which involves a company called Bezeq Telecommunications Israel, is the most serious. Over investor objections, Netanyahu approved a merger favorable to the company’s owners. In return, Bezeq’s news portal allegedly began removing critical stories about Netanyahu and his family.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has announced his intention – pending a hearing – to indict Netanyahu in all three cases. Mandelblit, however, delayed the hearing until after the election.
Netanyahu has been bobbing and weaving. He first said the hearing would clear him. Then he tried to delay the hearing. His supporters want Mandelblit to drop the cases, arguing that Israelis knew about the allegations and still voted for Netanyahu.
Mandelblit responded that public will doesn’t outweigh the rule of law. He’s right, but such sentiment sounds outdated in a supposed democracy that is led by an autocrat who embraces other autocrats and is becoming more nationalistic.
Like Netanyahu, Gantz said he would not accept any Arab parties in his coalition if he became prime minister – even though Arabs comprise 21 percent of Israel’s population. And Gantz touted himself as the moderate. This week, a far-right Israeli activist warned a Knesset member that his daughter should not be dating an Israeli Arab.
Netanyahu has adopted the language of this country’s autocratic elected leader, calling the investigations “witch hunts” engineered by the “deep state” and the media. From a personal political standpoint, it’s obviously working.
For decades, though, Israel cast itself as a strong democracy, not just the Middle East’s only democracy. A prime minister, a president and cabinet ministers have gone to prison. They were not above the law.
Netanyahu seeks to change that. The scary part is not that he wants to commit this crime against democracy. The scary part is that so many Israelis are willing to be his accomplices.