Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand in a Tel Aviv courtroom on Tuesday to testify for the first time since his corruption trial began more than four years ago after he was charged with fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
The charges were filed in November 2019 by the prosecution for allegedly receiving gifts in exchange for favors and for pressure to achieve a positive image of his administration in the media.
After pleading “not guilty” in 2021 in a vehement plea of innocence and presenting himself as a victim of political persecution, Netanyahu will now answer questions from both the defense and the prosecution.
He is scheduled to testify for six hours a day, three days a week, until the end of the month, something Netanyahu said was excessive as the prime minister of a country with several war fronts.
The trial, which began in May 2020 and in which some 140 of the 300 witnesses who were to be called have been heard, involves three separate cases:
Case 1000 for receiving gifts:
Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust for accepting nearly $300.000 in gifts, including champagne and cigars, between 2007 and 2016 from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. In return, prosecutors say, the prime minister interceded on Milchan’s behalf, including by pressuring the Finance Ministry to double the duration of a tax break for expatriate Israelis after the producer returned to Israel.
Netanyahu is also accused of pressuring the US to renew Milchan's visa and of intervening to facilitate a merger deal between two broadcasters, one of which is partly owned by the producer. Neither is on trial, but Milchan did admit in 2020 to giving gifts to the Netanyahus.
Fraud and breach of trust crimes can carry prison sentences of up to three years.
Case 2000 for favorable media coverage:
It concerns an alleged quid pro quo agreement in 2014 with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Yediot Aharonot, one of the country's leading newspapers. According to the indictment, Netanyahu was to receive favorable coverage in that outlet. In exchange, he is accused of agreeing to consider enacting legislation that would limit the circulation of Israel Hayom, a rival newspaper owned by Sheldon Adelson, a Netanyahu supporter.
In this case, the prime minister is not accused of keeping that promise, but of accepting such a commitment, which is why he is also charged with fraud and breach of trust. Mozes, who is also on trial, has denied any wrongdoing.
Case 4000 for regulatory favors to telecommunications companies:
Prosecutors say that between 2012 and 2017, tycoon Shaul Elovitch — the former owner of the Walla online news site and a majority shareholder in the Bezeq telecommunications group — granted favors to the Netanyahus and allowed them to shape the outlet’s coverage to their advantage in exchange for regulatory favors for Bezeq that did not limit mergers or financial gains.
In addition to fraud and breach of trust, he is also charged with bribery, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The Elovitches, who have been prosecuted, deny any wrongdoing.
Should he resign?
Police also opened Case 3000, which concerned alleged irregularities in the acquisition of German-made submarines by the former Netanyahu government, but he was ultimately acquitted.
If convicted and sentenced to a final judgment, Netanyahu would have to resign, but he can remain in power while the trial is ongoing, as Israeli law states that a minister must resign if indicted, but does not apply to the head of government. The trial, including possible appeals, is unlikely to be completed before 2028-29.
“I feel a deep obligation to continue leading Israel in a way that ensures our future,” the prime minister said in 2018 when police published their investigation and filed charges against him.
Former minister Ehud Olmert did resign in 2009 after being accused of taking bribes when he was mayor of Jerusalem, for which he was later sentenced to six years in prison in 2014. The assassinated Itzhak (Isaac) Rabin also resigned from that post in 1977 only because it was discovered that his wife had a bank account with a few thousand dollars opened in the US, something prohibited for Israeli public officials.
Netanyahu, who has declared himself the victim of a "witch hunt," has no intention of resigning, and even managed to return to power after the 2022 elections, after a brief stint in the opposition for a year and a half, without his corruption cases interfering hardly at all in the electoral campaign. EFE