Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu

During the fourth and fifth premiership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a number of corruption scandals have been investigated allegedly directly involving Netanyahu and his close political circle. The Israel Police began investigating Netanyahu starting in December 2016. Police recommended indictments against Netanyahu, and on 21 November 2019, Netanyahu was officially indicted for breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud. As a result of the indictment, Netanyahu is legally required to relinquish his ministry portfolios other than prime minister. Netanyahu's trial in the Jerusalem District Court began on 24 May 2020.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Overview
  • Case 1000, officially opened in December 2016, involves valuable presents and gifts received by Netanyahu and his wife throughout the years from several wealthy acquaintances.
  • Case 2000 deals with recorded conversations Netanyahu had with Arnon Mozes, chairman and editor of Yedioth Ahronoth, one of the largest newspapers in circulation in Israel. During these conversations, Netanyahu and Mozes discussed legislation that could harm Yedioth's major competitor, Israel Hayom.
  • Case 3000 does not directly involve Netanyahu, but, rather, people with professional and personal ties to Netanyahu, in connection to a deal made between Israel and Germany for the purchase of three Dolphin-class submarines and four Sa'ar 6-class corvette warships.
  • Case 4000 relates to telecommunications company Bezeq's relationship with its regulator, the communication ministry, at the time headed by Netanyahu.
  • Case 1270 was an offshoot of Case 4000, involving an alleged appointment bribe offer to an Attorney General of Israel candidate, in exchange for dropping a case against Netanyahu's wife.

On 21 November 2019, Netanyahu was officially charged of deception and breach of trust in cases 1000 and 2000, and of deception, breach of trust, and receiving bribes in case 4000.

Case 1000

In case 1000, Netanyahu has been charged with having had a conflict of interest when, in the capacity of Minister of Communications, he handled affairs related to the business interests of Arnon Milchan. Over the course of 20 years, Netanyahu received from Milchan, and from a friend of Milchan's, James Packer, expensive cigars and champagne, worth $195,000, and jewelry for Netanyahu's wife Sara costing $3,100.[1][2] The charges cite three separate incidents in which Netanyahu assisted Milchan. In the first, Netanyahu contacted US officials regarding Milchin's visa to the US. In the second, in 2013, Netanyahu discussed with then-Finance Minister the possibility of extending the period of an investment tax break that would help Milchan (the tax break was not extended). In the third, Netanyhu directed an official of the communications ministry to provide information to Milchin regarding a merger of Milchin's telecommunication companies.

Case 1270

Case 1270 related to a suspicion that Netanyahu's former media advisor offered District Court president Hila Gerstel an appointment to the vacated Attorney General of Israel, in exchange for closing a case against Netanyahu's wife, an offer Gerstel refused.[3] The case has been compared to the "Bar-On Hebron affair" in 1997, during Netanyahu's first term, involving the appointment of Roni Bar-On to attorney general.[4] In January 2019, the case was closed for lack of evidence.

Case 2000

The two largest newspapers in circulation in Israel are Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom. Israel Hayom, owned directly and indirectly by Netanyahu's personal friend and benefactor Sheldon Adelson, is often criticized by the political left for portraying Netanyahu in an overly positive light. Conversely, Yedioth is often criticized by the right for being unfairly negative towards Netanyahu.

Netanyahu and the editor of Yedioth, Arnon "Noni" Mozes, held three meetings between 2008 and 2014,[5] during which they discussed passage of legislation that would limit circulation of Israel Hayom in exchange for Yedioth hiring journalists more favorable to Netanyahu. The legislation received support from left-wing parties but failed due to opposition from Netanyahu's coalition,[2] which Netanyahu says he dissolved due to his opposition to the legislation.

Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust in the case; Mozes has been charged with attempted bribery.

Case 3000

Netanyahu is not a suspect in Case 3000. Three Dolphin-class submarines and four Sa'ar 6-class corvette were purchased from the German company ThyssenKrupp by Israel. The suspicion in this case refers to swaying the deal in ThyssenKrup's favor for the personal gain of several of the people involved. Netanyahu's cousin and personal lawyer David Shimron, who represented the German company in Israel, is one of the main suspects.[2]

Case 4000

Case 4000 involves the communication conglomerate Bezeq. The investigation investigated, among other issues, whether falsehoods were made with regards to paperwork leading to favorable business dealings for Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch in exchange for favorable reporting to Netanyahu by Walla!.[6]

The Israeli Police recommended on 2 December 2018 that bribery charges be brought against Netanyahu and his wife.[7] On 21 November 2019, Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit officially brought charges against Netanyahu of fraud, breach of trust, and receipt of bribes.

Protests

Several events have followed the investigations as they had widespread implications. As of September 2017, protesters have held Sunday rallies in Petah Tikva for 41 consecutive weeks to protest what they claim as interference with the investigations by the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.[8][9] Rallies have also been held in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square to protest government corruption, even in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, where demonstrators stood the required two meters apart and wore masks.

Supporters of Netanyahu (mainly Likud party members) organized counter protests. In early August 2017, leader of the coalition David Bitan began calling to arms the members of the Likud party, first in the form of the counter protests in Petah Tikva, later by threatening any party member who won't stand behind Netanyahu of "getting even" in the next primary season, and finally in a large rally to show support. The rally was held in Tel Aviv and had a wide showing of the majority of the Knesset members from the Likud party. During the rally Netanyahu gave a controversial speech, accusing the media of being a part of a left wing coalition and plotting against not only him, but the entire right wing. Opponents of Netanyahu argued that this was baseless, first because he is being investigated personally, as opposed to the entire Likud party, and because both Roni Alsheikh (Chief of the Israeli Police) and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit were appointed by Netanyahu himself.[10] Since then, Netanyahu has consistently attempted to denigrate the justice system and the police in an effort to discount the charges against him, culminating in a speech made outside the courtroom on 24 May 2020, before attending his first trial session.

Indictment

On 19 December 2018, Israeli State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan recommended to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit that Netanyahu be indicted.[11] On 20 December 2018, Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said he would "work quickly" on the case, but "not at the expense of quality decisions and professionalism".[12]

On 28 February 2019, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected a motion filed by Netanyahu's Likud Party to stall the publication of the Attorney General's recommendations.[13][14] The same day, Mandelblit announced that he had accepted police recommendations to indict Netanyahu on three of the charges and that the indictment will officially go into effect following a hearing.[15][16]

The hearing took place in October 2019, and on 21 November, Netanyahu was indicted in cases 1000, 2000, and 4000 for charges including breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud.[17][18][19]

As a result of the indictment, Netanyahu was legally required to relinquish of his ministry portfolios other than Prime Minister.[20][21]

Immunity bid

Netanyahu submitted a request for immunity to the parliamentary speaker, Yuli Edelstein, on 1 January 2020.[22] Many MKs, including Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu, Benny Gantz of Blue and White, and Stav Shaffir of the Green Party, were critical of the move. Lieberman called for the Knesset to bring back committees that had been dissolved (and also indicated that his party would vote against a bid for immunity); without a Knesset committee, there would be no action on Netanyahu's immunity until after the March election.[23] According to The Times of Israel columnist Raoul Wootliff, the election had in effect become a race to gain enough seats so that Netanyahu can successfully request immunity from over half of the MKs.[24]

Knesset legal advisor Eyal Yinon ruled on 12 January 2020 that there was no impediment to forming a Knesset committee that could prevent Netanyahu from receiving immunity. If his immunity bid was not accepted, his trial could begin.[25] There was a vote the next day establishing a House Committee that would debate immunity for Netanyahu; it was approved 16 votes in favour to five against. The committee included 30 members, with a majority from parties opposed to Netanyahu.[26]

As a result, Netanyahu withdrew his bid for immunity on 28 January 2020; the charges against him were thus officially confirmed and filed in Jerusalem District Court on the same day.[27]

Prelude to the trial

On 18 February 2020, the Justice Ministry announced that Netanyahu's trial would start in the Jerusalem District Court on 17 March 2020.[28]

On 9 March 2020, Netanyahu filed a motion to delay the trial for 45 days.[29] On 10 March, the court rejected this bid and affirmed the original trial date.[30] However, on 15 March 2020, the beginning of the trial was pushed back until 24 May as a result of coronavirus-related restrictions.[31] The Jerusalem District Court ordered Netanyahu to appear in person at the opening of his trial.[32]

Trial

The trial began on 24 May 2020 in courtroom 317 of the Jerusalem District Court, in front of judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham, with Friedman-Feldman as the presiding judge. The prosecutors are Deputy State Attorney Liat Ben-Ari, who serves as lead prosecutor, Yonatan Tadmor, Deputy Chief of the Tel Aviv District State Attorney's Office Economic Crimes Division, and Yehudit Tirosh, Director of the Securities Department of the Israel Securities Authority.[33] Netanyahu's defense team initially consisted of Amit Hadad, the chief of the defense team (with adv. Noa Milstein, Avichai Yehosef and Yair Leshem), and Micha Fettman. Fettman left the defense team following the first hearing and was replaced by Yossi Segev.[34] Following the second hearing, Boaz Ben-Tzur joined the defense team.[35]

Four preliminary hearings occurred in 2020.[36] Netanyahu was present at the first hearing (an opening session called a "reading"), along with three other defendants in his corruption cases, Shaul Elovitch, Iris Elovitch, and Arnon Mozes. At the hearing, judges read out the charges to Netanyahu and the others, and the defendants confirming that they understood them, after which the defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges discussed the timing of the start of the evidentiary stage of the trial.[37][38][39][40] The court exempted Netanyahu from appearing at subsequent preliminary hearings.[36][41]

The second hearing on 19 July 2020 involved procedural issues to determine whether the prosecution and defense had examined the investigative materials and to determine the timing of the start of the evidentiary stage and number of hearings per week. Netanyahu's defense requested a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The presiding judge, Rivka Friedman-Feldman, rejected the defense's request and ruled that the prosecution would begin presenting its case in January 2021, with witnesses to testify three times a week, and that Netanyahu would have to attend.[42][43] On 26 July, the court announced that the trial's preliminary hearing would take place on 6 December, and Netanyahu would be obligated to attend.[44] On 15 September, the prosecution summoned 90 witnesses to appear at the evidentiary phase of his trial.[45] To accommodate the expected large number of audience members, a spacious courtroom (two regular courtrooms merged toether and remodeled) is being specially created for the trial.[36] In late November 2020, the court delayed the beginning of the evidentiary stage, setting it for February 2021, with witness testimony to follow.[36]

See also

References
  1. Heller, Jeffrey (13 February 2018). "Israeli police recommend bribery charges against Netanyahu". Reuters. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  2. Judy Maltz (5 September 2017). "Explainer All the Scandals Involving Netanyahu, and Where They Stand". Haaretz. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. Eli Senyor (20 February 2018). "Two suspected of offering bribes to close case against PM's wife". Ynet. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  4. Revital Hovel; Gidi Weitz; Josh Breiner (20 February 2018). "Netanyahu Confidant Suspected of Offering Judge Top Post to Nix Case Against Sara Netanyahu". Haaretz. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  5. "Benjamin Netanyahu: What are the corruption charges?". BBC News. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  6. Udi Shaham; Yonah Jeremy Bob (18 February 2018). "Netanyahu said to be called in for questioning in 'Bezeq case 4000'". jpost.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  7. Raoul Wootliff (3 December 2018). "Police recommend bribery charges against Netanyahu in telecom-media Case 4000". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  8. "Anti-corruption protests continue for 38th week outside AG's home". Ynet. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  9. Alexander Fulbright (2 September 2017). "Protesters call for PM to resign after Netanyahu derides anti-corruption demos". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  10. "Netanyahu delivers fiery speech at rally". Associated Press. 20 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  11. Jack Gold (20 December 2018). "Israel State Prosecutor's Office recommends Netanyahu indictment". World Israel News. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  12. Gil Hoffman (20 December 2018). "Mandelblit: We aren't pursuing the prime minister". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  13. "High Court nixes Likud bid to halt AG recommendations on Netanyahu graft probes". Ynetnews. 28 February 2019.
  14. Yonah Jeremy Bob (28 February 2019). "High Court rejects Likud petition to delay Mandelblit indictment decision". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  15. "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be indicted for corruption". Associated Press. 28 February 2019.
  16. "Attorney general agrees to spread Netanyahu indictment hearings over two weeks". Times of Israel. 29 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  17. "Israeli PM Netanyahu indicted on charges in corruption cases". KHOU. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  18. Yonah, Jeremy Bob (21 November 2019). "A-G: It is my duty by law to indict Benjamin Netanyahu". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  19. Felicia Schwartz; Dov Lieber (22 November 2019). "Israel's Netanyahu Is Indicted on Bribery and Fraud Charges". Wall Street Journal. p. A1.
  20. Levinson, Chaim (23 November 2019). "Netanyahu to Relinquish Ministerial Portfolios in Coming Days". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  21. Staff writer (23 November 2019). "Netanyahu said set to give up 4 ministry portfolios after charges announced". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  22. "Netanyahu submits immunity request to Knesset Speaker". The Jerusalem Post. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  23. "MKs slam Netanyahu's immunity request: 'A new low', says Ya'alon". The Jerusalem Post. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  24. Raoul Wootliff (2 January 2020). "Seeking immunity and 61 MKs to back it, Netanyahu sets up a trial by election". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  25. Gil Hoffman (12 January 2020). "Knesset legal adviser removes hurdle from prosecuting Netanyahu". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  26. Raoul Wootliff (13 January 2020). "In blow to Netanyahu, lawmakers vote to set up panel to debate his immunity". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  27. Yonah Jeremy Bob; Gil Hoffman (28 January 2020). "Bribery indictment against Netanyahu filed with court". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  28. Staff writer. "Netanyahu corruption trial set to open on March 17, two weeks after election". The Times of Israel.
  29. Yael Friedson (9 March 2020). "State Prosecution to court: No to Netanyahu trial delay". Ynet. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  30. Yael Friedson (10 March 2020). "Jerusalem court rejects Netanyahu bid to delay corruption trial". Ynet. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  31. Raoul Wootliff (15 March 2020). "Netanyahu's trial delayed by over 2 months as court activity limited over virus". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  32. Holmes, Oliver (20 May 2020). "Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to appear at opening of criminal trial" – via www.theguardian.com.
  33. Yonah Jeremy Bob (27 June 2020). "Who are the prosecutors for Benjamin Netanyahu's bribery trial?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  34. Staff writer (11 July 2020). "Ahead of 2nd hearing, attorney with tax conviction joins Netanyahu defense team". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  35. Bob, Yonah Jeremy (3 August 2020). "PM Benjamin Netanyahu adds third new lawyer to trial team". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  36. "Large courtroom being specially constructed for Netanyahu trial". The Times of Israel. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  37. Magid, Jacob; Bachner, Michael (24 May 2020). "Taking defendant's bench, Netanyahu becomes first Israeli PM to stand trial". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  38. Staff writer (25 May 2020). "After opening day of trial, Netanyahu unlikely to be in court again this year". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  39. Wootliff, Raoul. "Netanyahu in the dock: How the first day of the PM's trial is set to play out". The Times of Israel.
  40. "Netanyahu on trial: PM to face judges tough on graft". Ynet. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  41. "Court Rules Netanyahu Exempt From Appearance at Next Hearing". Jewish News Syndicate. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  42. Staff writer (19 July 2020). "Witnesses to start testifying in Netanyahu trial in January, 3 times a week". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  43. "Judge: PM must be in court 3 times per week when graft trial calls witnesses in January". Ynet. 19 July 2020.
  44. Yonah Jeremy Bob (27 July 2020). "Netanyahu must attend December 6 hearing". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  45. Staff writer (15 September 2020). "Witness list announced for January hearings in Netanyahu's bribery trial". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
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