Since his return to the post of prime minister two years ago, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared to be doing everything possible to stop, postpone or avoid this day.
On Tuesday, the 75-year-old became the first sitting Israeli leader to appear as a defendant in a criminal trial when he took the stand and began testifying in his own defense.
Netanyahu was indicted for fraud, bribery and breach of trust in 2019 but his case was repeatedly delayed – first by the COVID-19 pandemic, then by the Hamas attack in Oct. Hamas and Hezbollah have kept Netanyahu too busy to attend.
But with his appeals over, a defiant Netanyahu appeared surrounded by supporters at a high-security court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and launched a volley after a vicious attack on the media, prosecutors and his political foes.
Responding to softball questions from his defense lawyer, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister spent much of his time as a witness insulting the ‘leftist’ media, saying they were so important that he wouldn’t waste his time trying to curry favor with them – which is key. part of the prosecution’s case against him.
In the three corruption charges he faces, he said it was “absurd” that he and his wife, Sara, accepted nearly $200,000 Cdn in gifts – cigarettes, champagne and jewelry – from wealthy businessmen in exchange for political favors.
Accused of bartering with the owners of a popular Israeli newspaper for favorable coverage, Netanyahu went on a tirade, accusing journalists and media outlets of being “biased” and a “great danger” to Israeli democracy.
And finally, to the question of whether he used his position as the head of the Israeli government to provide regulatory assistance to an Israeli telecommunications company in order to – again – get a good press report, he denied any wrongdoing.
“There was no ‘understanding,’ corruption, nothing,” he said, suggesting that all the charges against him were politically motivated.
‘Witch Hunt’
The night before, in a controversial press conference, Netanyahu called the case a “political witch hunt” that “ruined the lives of countless people” caught up in it.
For Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and leader, the personal and political risks of a trial could not be greater.
If convicted, criminal penalties can be up to ten years in prison.
But as he began what is expected to be a month of testimony, it appeared that Netanyahu was more concerned about his political legacy.
“In fact, he would not want his legacy to be… The Israel Democracy Institute, a political think tank based in Jerusalem.
Plesner told CBC News that although Netanyahu has started to fight, it is not yet clear how his fight will play out if he is confronted by prosecutors or if he has to speak directly to a panel of judges.
“Netanyahu is the most divisive person in the history of the world,” said Plesner.
His supporters cast him as a defender of Israel, who is strong on security and who shows that he is Jewish, Plesner said.
However, many of Netanyahu’s opponents accuse him of undermining Israel’s democratic institutions, bringing record levels of racism to society and “overseeing the worst security crisis in the country’s history” with the October 7 attack, Plesner added.
As his testimony continues next month and he is expected to be on the witness stand, observers expect Netanyahu to continue his attacks on the judiciary by bringing him to court while at the same time trying to delay the trial for as long as possible.
Defense strategy
“There are two levels of defense,” said Gayil Talshir, an author of a book about politicians and a professor at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.
“The other thing is, ‘The courts are only prosecuting me because they are part of the opposition parties and the opposition parties will not win the elections,'” he said.
“The other line is that Netanyahu will say that he was not part of it … that he did not know much about the issues that the regime is prosecuting him about, [that] he has significant security issues to deal with.”
Talshir also told CBC News that Netanyahu may continue to push the case as long as possible.
“He doesn’t want to reach a decision,” he said.
Indeed, Netanyahu’s political rivals have repeatedly accused him of waging war on Gaza and sacrificing the lives of both Israeli and Palestinian hostages in Gaza to give him an excuse to avoid taking the witness stand.
Netanyahu’s Likud party is part of a coalition of Jewish opposition parties whose members have expressed their desire to continue the war, saying the best outcome for Israel would be to drive most of the Palestinians out of Gaza and resettle the land. a field with Jews.
Both sides of Israel’s deeply divided society were on display outside the Tel Aviv court where Netanyahu was testifying.
Yael Navon was among the protesters who wanted him to resign immediately, saying that being a defendant in a major criminal case and leading the country is incompatible.
“We all want our kidnappers out and in his place, he can’t do it,” he told CBC News.
Meanwhile, Asaf Sokolowski said he believes that the charges against Netanyahu are politically motivated.
“We see this as an attack on us, his supporters. An attack on at least half of the Israelis,” he said.
Netanyahu will face legal problems if he ever leaves Israel, too.
Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest, accusing Netanyahu of crimes against humanity in connection with Israel’s 14-month war in Gaza.
He has been accused by human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, of leading the massacre against the Palestinian people and waging an immoral war against civilians.
But as Netanyahu settles into what will be a marathon of thrust-and-parry with prosecutors next month, the prime minister’s focus is on winning over his home audience.
In the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Canadian-Israeli columnist Dahlia Scheindlin wrote that Netanyahu gave long-winded answers to portray himself as a “global empire” and the only one capable of standing up to the “evil forces” challenging Israel.
It’s a series of defenses that may have little to do with the criminal charges he faces. But it could be very important in strengthening his position with Israeli voters at election time.
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