Asking us to side with him against the state, Netanyahu harms his beloved Israel

No matter how burning his sense of injustice, would that Netanyahu had taken a nobler course; instead he has plunged Israel deeper into a dreadful ordeal

By DAVID HOROVITZ, TOI 21 November 2019, 11:19 pm

In this Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 photo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an extended faction meeting of his right-wing / ultra-Orthodox bloc members at the Knesset (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
In this Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 photo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an extended faction meeting of his right-wing / ultra-Orthodox bloc members at the Knesset (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Among Israelis and those who care about Israel, there should be no celebrating the attorney general’s announcement Thursday that Benjamin Netanyahu is to stand trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, an astute, intelligent and articulate leader who has repeatedly won the public’s trust at the ballot box and steered Israel through the past decade’s multi-threatening challenges in a dangerous, unpredictable Middle East.

But neither should there be any underestimating the gravity of the conclusion carefully drawn by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit — at the end of a protracted investigation, and after weighing a final effort by Netanyahu’s attorneys to dissuade him — that the prime minister must answer in court for his actions in the three graft cases against him.

The allegations that the prime minister criminally abused his office are “grave,” Mandelblit made clear in a 15-minute appearance Thursday evening at which he exuded a mixture of competence, responsibility, certainty about his decision, and sorrow about its consequences.

Since it was his firm conclusion that there was “a reasonable likelihood” Netanyahu would be convicted of the offenses, Mandelblit stressed, “it was my legal obligation to press charges — not a choice, but a requirement.” At the same time, he stressed, Netanyahu retains the presumption of innocence; it is the judges who will decide his fate.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit holds a press conference at the Ministry of Justice in Jerusalem, announcing his decision that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will stand trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three different corruption cases, dubbed by police Case 1000, Case 2000 and Case 4000. November 21, 2019. (Hadas Parush/FLASH90)

Thursday’s announcement marks the first time in Israel’s history that criminal charges have been issued against a serving prime minister, but it does not automatically mark the end of the road for Netanyahu. He can seek immunity from prosecution via the Knesset — a process that could take months, given that Israeli politics is largely paralyzed in the wake of April’s and September’s deadlocked elections, and the Knesset House Committee that would consider an immunity request has not been selected and may not be functional for weeks or even months.

And even if the immunity route proves fruitless, or Netanyahu were to eschew it, Israeli law is not definitive on whether a serving prime minister is required to step down when charged, or even when convicted. There is a legal argument that he would have the right to remain in office until the entire appeals process has been exhausted — a legal argument that has never been tested, because Israel has never found itself in this ignominious situation before.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to the decision to indict him in corruption cases, November 21, 2019 (Channel 11 Kan screenshot)

In his own appearance later Thursday, a bitter, angry but emphatically unbowed Netanyahu made plain that he would not be going quietly. He would, he vowed, “continue to lead the state — in accordance with the law.”

The day Rivlin saw coming

While professing respect for Israel’s law enforcement hierarchies, the prime minister went on to castigate them, repeatedly, in the harshest terms. He was innocent of all wrongdoing, he said. His crime was to have shaped and defended a “strong, big Israel” and not “the weak, shrunken, craven state” that the left and its adherents seek.

And the police and prosecutors had now collaborated with his political opponents to attempt nothing less than a “coup d’etat,” he charged — framing him for crimes he did not commit, extorting witnesses, and fabricating evidence. It was not he who should have been investigated, he declared, but the police and the prosecutors. An independent committee was urgently needed, he said, “to investigate the investigators.”

Much of what Netanyahu alleged Thursday he has said before, in previous appearances as the legal walls closed in. But with his position at its lowest Thursday, his response was at its most incendiary. He had lost faith in the law-enforcement system, he declared, and so too had masses of Israelis — “and rightly so.”

Few people who have followed the investigations of Netanyahu, and his public efforts to discredit them, would have been surprised that he chose to go on the offensive. Few would have expected him to tell the public that he had changed course, and that, while protesting his innocence, he would temporarily step down to fight his legal battles, expecting to return once his name has been cleared.

President Reuven Rivlin (R) tasks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a new government, during a press conference at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on September 25, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

But that is surely what he should have done. That was the course of action that President Reuven Rivlin, who saw this day coming, essentially recommended when he set out his suggested power-sharing arrangement between Netanyahu and rival would-be prime minister Benny Gantz after the elections two months ago, with its provision for Netanyahu to take a leave of absence if charged. Netanyahu ostensibly accepted the idea, but not with the specific, binding commitment that could have made it viable.

Playing with fire

Mandelblit, Netanyahu’s own former cabinet secretary and his own appointee as attorney general, is adamant that the prime minister has allegedly abused his office and must face Israel’s judges. The prime minister is adamant that Mandelblit has been misled, and that the facts are different. These are matters for the courts to decide. And since they relate to alleged wrongdoing committed by Netanyahu while in public office, the day of legal reckoning cannot be postponed.

What Israel faces now is weeks, months, maybe years of heightened internal division, of supporters of Netanyahu pitted against opponents, with potential consequences one hesitates even to delineate in writing

Instead, Netanyahu on Thursday night asked the public to choose between his version of events and that of the police and the state prosecution — telling Israelis, in short, that the institutions that uphold our rule of law cannot be trusted and should not be heeded. Israel’s very “existence,” he said, requires something that it no longer has — “a credible rule of law.”

This will not play out well.

What Israel faces now is weeks, months, maybe years of heightened internal division, of supporters of Netanyahu pitted against opponents, with potential consequences one hesitates even to delineate in writing.

Those who charge that the prosecution is corrupt, who attack its integrity, who disseminate conspiracy theories, “are playing with fire,” as Mandelblit warned.

Supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrate outside the PM’s Residece following the announcement by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit that Netanyahu will stand trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three corruption cases, November 21, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/FLASH90)

Israel also faces weeks, months, and maybe years of legal battles — over the limitations on diplomatic, political and other action that must now apply to a serving prime minister against whom criminal charges have been issued; over his right to form another government if he finds the necessary support; over his right to remain as prime minister as the case moves forward.

Maybe, just maybe, the political picture may clarify or alter matters — somebody else in the Knesset could muster the support of 60 colleagues and form a government in the next three weeks; somebody else could win an election; some in Netanyahu’s own Likud could challenge or abandon him. And then Netanyahu would be fighting for his innocence from somewhere other than the helm of Israel.

A step too far

The prime minister and his prosecutor both peppered their appearances Thursday night with declarations of fealty to our state. Netanyahu began, indeed, with the heartfelt declaration: “I’ve given my life for this country, I fought for this country, was wounded for this country…”

They both insisted on their profound sense of responsibility to the well-being of Israel, its democracy, and its people. They both highlighted the primacy of the rule of law.

And the law will, eventually, have its say in the case of Benjamin Netanyahu — whether he is prime minister or an ordinary citizen when the wheels of justice are finally done turning. But he should have spared his, our, beloved country the ordeal Israel now faces.

He may truly believe himself to be the indispensable prime minister. He has certainly proved exceptionally effective. But our country’s national interests, notably including its internal cohesion, take precedence over those of any individual — even its longest serving prime minister, even a prime minister convinced he is the hapless victim of dark and corrupt forces.

His ferocious assault on Israel’s agencies of law enforcement, his appeal to the public to side with him and against the state, is a step too far. For Israel’s sake, and for Netanyahu’s, would that he had chosen a nobler path.

November 24, 2019 | 17 Comments »
Subscribe to Israpundit Daily Digest

Leave a Reply

17 Comments / 17 Comments

  1. (Continued)

    By the way. Do you think Putin wants Iran to get away with a large scale attack on Israel and The US. I do not think so. What about the EU. No.
    When it comes to these matters, The EU will come through for it’s NATO allies. Don’t forget Putin communicates with Israeli Intelligence all the time and is officially ‘not unsympathetic toward Israel”.
    I am not worried at all.

  2. @ Adam Dalgliesh:

    Israel is prepared, continues to prepare, has been prepared for this contingency for many years. Israel has many redundant systems and if any one fails it will be replaced by another. This contingency planning is a big part of what they have been doing since ’48 and they do not use their most sophisticated technology unless there is no choice.
    That is not to suggest that Israelis will not be harmed, potentially, but depending upon what gets launched….no one will know for sure what Israel will do.
    Israel would likely pre-empt the attack, if they believe such an attack were eminent.
    If it were a direct attack to coming attack attributable to Iran, you can expect Israel will deliver the groceries to Iran proper. Which direction it comes from and where it originated from is anyone’s guess.
    I do not think Iran is going to do that with Trump as POTUS.
    They’ll wai for a POTUS Warren or Sanders or Boot-a-judge or Barisma Biden. Why would they open themselves up to an American response from Trump. They simply will not. They will do what they are doing now, saber rattle. The leadership knows Israel will target them and their minions first. That is the deterrent.

  3. @ Adam Dalgliesh:

    I don’t think that the Mullahs read Israpudit, and if they did, wouldn’t care about our concentration on the domestic mess. My feeling is that Iran knows , that if they show real signs of mounting a devastating attack on Israel, that the US will start de-mothballing it’s B52 bombers, and publicly announcing increased manufacture of their most massive bunker buster…..

    I’m sure the US would intervene with major air power. They have made many pronouncements to that effect.(paraphrased ..so-to-speak).

  4. @ Felix Quigley: Thanks, Felix, for your kind words about me here and on other threads. On one thread, I can’t remember which, you asked, “where has Adam Dalgliesh gone, he is usually so full of information about the subject?” I was very flattered by your question. Actually, I never stoppred commenting but I did so under other threads than the one you were commenting on. Best wishes, Adam.

  5. This is a deeply disturbing report from YeshivaWorld. The former IDF Ombudsman Brick says that Iran and its allies will at some point mount a terrible attack on Israel that will cause thousands of casualties and destroy Israel’s infrastructure, requiring years or decades to repair, and completely devastate Israel’s economy

    On the Day Iran Decides to Attack, 1000s of Missiles Will Strike Tel Aviv

    November 24, 2019 6:00 pm

    On the day Tehran decides to attack Israel, Israel will find herself in an existential war. Thousands of missiles will rain down on central population centers; including Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva and Jerusalem. This is the scenario that former IDF Ombudsman, Major-General (reserves) Yitzchak Brick envisions.

    It has been almost a year since Brick warned that if Israel goes to war, the outcome of the Yom Kippur War will look like “a walk in the park“.

    Now, after Israel attacked Iranian positions in Syria, Brick told Kippa News that the State of Israel faces an existential threat, one involving thousands of missiles, not just in the north; but in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva. This is what will occur according to Brick on the day Iran decides to attack Israel.

    What do you believe will prompt Iran to attack?
    We are talking about a process that has been building over years by the Iranians and partners; Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and others. At the time there will be a general outbreak, some 2,000 missiles will be fired at Israel, aimed at the center of population centers in the State of Israel. We are speaking about Gush Dan, the Haifa Gulf, Be’er Sheva and Jerusalem.

    Your statements are quite serious. I do not believe the Israeli public really understands the picture.
    There is a well-oiled system in place making sure this message does not reach the Israeli public, which remains complacent. By the way, there is no argument regarding the situation that I am describing. The public simply doesn’t get it.

    Brick claims that the current political reality in Israel severely harms the security establishment despite the fact they try to paint a different picture. The plan of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Aviv Kochavi is stuck because of the political situation.

    “Kochavi understands the problem. It is not what it was in the past. They know a problem exists. Kochavi himself explains ‘black clouds are penetrating the skies of Israel’. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also says, ‘we are facing an existential threat which is far more serious than the Yom Kippur War’.

    “They all understand when the big blast occurs there will not be an answer. We must immediately advance a plan. I think that what will occur will be even more serious that the [outcome of the] Yom Kippur War. The difference is that in all wars in Israel, we fought on the front, but the coming war will be the homefront. There will be complete erosion of the population centers, loss of the skies. The economic devastation will be huge. We are the most threatened country in the world today.

    “Brick sharpens the differences and emphasizes that during the Yom Kippur War they talked about the conquest of the State of Israel, whereas today, the existential threat is quite different. It is not like that are coming with tanks to conquer the State of Israel. This is an existential threat involving the firing of missiles over our [population] centers that will cause us not to recover for years following the destruction. This is a total impairment in the ability to live here. We will not want to live here. No one will want to immigrate here. It will damage the infrastructure, that will take decades to restore. We have no guarantee that after that it will not move on.”

    What can be done today?
    First of all, we can say what should have been done. We have been between wars for ten years. We were busy constantly stopping rockets from Gaza. We bombed Iraq and Syria. We did not find time to engage in the big war. The homefront was not taken into account in the IDF’s plan. It is simply a scandal. We had to sit on the shed and think what weapons could be effective against these missiles, because we understand that the Israel Air Force will to be able to stop them. What we needed for example, is the matter of the laser cannon. You have to understand that a missile laser shot at a missile is a beam that costs $2,000 while an Arrow missile costs $3 million. The United States wanted to continue developing but decided to give it up. Now, everyone wants it, but we’ve been delayed for ten years. We are not ready today. This is just one example. There is much more.

    Major-General Brick claims the State of Israel was too busy with what is called ‘the war between the wars’ and not the primary threat. According to Brick, everyone today thinks there will be no more major wars. “Since the peace with Egypt, Jordan, it appears there will be no more big wars. At the time, they did not notice that a phenomenon was developing that was simply devastating for us,” Brick adds.

    Does anyone in the defense establishment hear what you are saying?
    They all hear me. They all agree with me as well, but no one will tell you this. The Prime Minister says it too, that it is an existential threat. Today, there is no argument on this.

    They all think it is a political trick by Netanyahu.
    This is no political trick. This is no spin. This is so real. The Chief of Staff also says it. The public must cease being complacent for it is sailing on the Titanic, happy, and heading for an iceberg. The Iron Dome is a bandage that cannot handle the large missiles. The Arrow, which costs so much money, will possibly protest some strategic venues. The Iranian missiles do not have to be accurate to fall on Gush Dan. Think of a missile weighing 700kg (1,543 pounds) falling in Tel Aviv – it does not have to be accurate. Today, the Iranians have thousands of such missiles.

    In a directly related matter, at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu included the following statements in his opening remarks.

    “Yesterday, the commander of US Central Command, which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East, General Kenneth F. McKenzie, said that Iran is planning another attack. This is true, additional attacks. However, Iran is not only attacking its neighbors and us, Iran is also attacking its citizens. In recent weeks, they have slaughtered hundreds of Iranian citizens. This is a tyrannical regime par excellence, the image and true face of which is now being exposed to the entire world. This is the largest terrorist regime in the world, regarding its own citizens as well.

    “Therefore, I call on all countries around the world that want to achieve peace and stability in our region, and throughout the world in general, to join in the effort and apply more and more pressure on Iran, and, additionally, to support Israel as it takes action against this aggression. We have taken action and we will continue to do so.”

    (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

    While everyone in Israel, and all of our israpundit commenters including myself, are preoccupied with Israel’s domestic political mess, Iran may take advantage of the situation to wipe us out.The severe domestic unrest in Iran might even prompt the Iranians to attempt a Shi’ite version of the so-called “Sampson Option,” by trying to wipe us out before they fall from power, and thereby fulfilling at least one of their promises to the Iranian people and the world–to wipe Israel out.

    T

  6. @ Laura:

    Yes. I agree with Laura. There is a reason why Gants want the first two years in control. That is the minimum time required to ram through approval for a Palestinian State.
    The idea is that inertia from change in The Israeli Gov’t will catapult a Democrapt take over of The US government : presidency, and both chambers of congress and we know their agenda. One of the first things will be re-joining the Iran Nuclear Deal disaster, and removing all of the pro-Israel moves made by Trump.
    It is up now to The Israelis, to reject The sickening well funded J Street degeneracy.
    Vote Bibi and save Israel.

  9. @ Edgar G.: Yes, Edgar. The ultimate objective of the lawyer conspirators is not to remove Bibi. That is only one means to their larger end, which is to end the settlement process and “return” the “West Bank” to the Palestinians. The “legal” eagles see themselves as the defenders of the “legitimate rights of the Palestinians.” They will seek to prosecute any politician who stands in the way of this goal. Indeed they and their police arm is currently investigating at least three other current cabinet members in addition to Bibi. Their lengthy investigations of Sharon, Olmert, and Leiberman (despite Leiberman’s denials) gradually transformed them from “hawks” to “doves” in order to end the endless investigations of them. We need to realize that the true objective of the “Legal fraternity” is not to remove one man, but to impose their notion of “peace” and the “two-state solution.” This is probably why and how the Blue-White party suddenly came into existence (with a carefully orchestrated large-scale media event) only a month before Mandelblit announced his intention to indict Bibi. It was all part of a larger plan to “anoint” a new prime minister committed to “peace in our time.”

  11. It is not Netanyahu against the state, as the subheading reads, but Netanyahu against the “deep state,” and he would be derelict in his responsibilities as protector of the state not to oppose the trumped up charges conjured up by the left to remove the democratically elected right. Inviting rich people to dinner does not require him to insist they bring only cheap liquor and cheap cigars; politicians are not prohibited from discussions with newspaper publishers or journalists to make their cases; and bribe takers of hundreds of thousands of shekels are not ordinarily offered immunity if they put the blame on someone who did not take a single shekel and followed the advice of his staff experts. Horovitz and his leftist clique are the ones lacking principle and democratic values, and should resign their positions, not Netanyahu.

  12. @ Ted Belman:

    Possibly he let go of his political face and is expressing pure “honest” outrage…??Maybe.

    He knows, the same as you do, that it will unfold according to the legal eagles, and is taking the opportunity to be completely honest with his true feelings. Rare privilege for a politician

  13. What will be accomplished by fighting on?
    Bibi will still be formaly indicted and subsequently tried in criminal court.
    Will/can Bibi hold on to his office after the incictment or after the trial begins?
    How can Bibi win the third election?
    What is the purpose of all the fighting. Can anyone ex-plaion that for me?

  14. @ Laura:

    Very well put. I’ve seen the emerging jump-ship (pers) poking their noses out of their burrows on this very site Have been and am, very disappointed with them. They don’t seem to understand that a momentous, historic event is taking place, where the corrupt Law machers are trying to take over the whole future of this presently wonderful country.

    It’s not just a matter of the fate of one man, however needed and important …

    Ted also posted today in his list, a speech by William Barr, the US Attorney General in his speech to The Federalist Society, dwells on this very subject, and how the legal sector has encroached on the specific duties of the President, to the extent that the Armed Forces, (of which he is the Commander-in-Chief) can bomb and kill enemies, but dare not take them prisoners, because they would be hampered by years of need to prove IN COURT, that their prisoners are guilty etc. EXACTLY like in Israel, which has the notoriety of being the first country in history to hand over all its power, including that of self defence, to the legal eagles, many of whom never served in the army, know nothing of military matters, or rose to higher than lieutenant–in the IDF legal dept. prosecuting erring 18 year old conscripts..

    Yet they take on themselves to KNOW what soldiers in the midst of battle should, coulsd and could not, do. As Adam said earlier. TRAGIC

  15. Bibi should fight on, this is totally wrong. Anyone saying he should resign is setting a terrible precedent. The left won’t stop with Bibi, they will take down any future Likud or right wing PM over manufactured allegations. Not to mention what a great PM he has been. By siding with Bibi IS siding with Israel. I’m surprised at the comments here. You are all very shortsighted. What if Congress impeaches Trump? Would you all say Trump should resign for the good of America? Of course not. It’s a coup as is the charges against Bibi.

  16. @ Michael S:
    He said “I will be prime minister for the first two years while Netanyahu can work on his legal issues. If he is acquitted, he can come back and be prime minister.”. Not acceptable. What he should be saying is that he will rotate with whom Likud selects to fill in for Netanuyahu.