For the first time in Israel, an incumbent prime minister is facing criminal charges, and his trial could stretch across several years.
Join Israel Hayom's Editor-in-Chief Boaz Bismuth and award-winning columnist Caroline Glick as they discuss what this high-profile trial may entail.
Video: Cameraman: Moshe Ben Simhon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing corruption charges in three cases: Case 1,000, which centers on gifts Netanyahu allegedly received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer; Case 2,000, which focuses on an illicit deal Netanyahu allegedly tried to strike with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes so as to ensure positive coverage; and Case 4,000, which centers on an alleged deal by which Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq, ensured positive coverage of the Netanyahu family by the Walla news website, which Bezeq owns, in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulations worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the company.
Q: While many say this is about Netanyahu, others say that Israelis as a whole are on trial. What do you think?
A: "The problem is that it is not Netanyahu himself or the Israeli Right that is on trial. What we see here is a fight against Israeli democracy, by the legal fraternity writ large led by the attorney general. They are trying to overthrow the determination of the Israeli public that Netanyahu is credible and that we want him to be prime minister. The one goal of the legal fraternity is to criminalize Netanyahu."
Q: On the one hand there are very serious charges. What is the prosecution's best attack strategy and what is the defense's best strategy?
A: "The reason why people are not focusing on the charges is because they are an affront to the concept of democracy and the concept of open and free politics in a liberal democracy. What they are saying essentially is that journalism is a crime and that because we don't support the conviction of the prime minister we are bribing him. He has been indicted for bribery. The statute they give for bribery does not exist in Israel's criminal code. They are saying that positive coverage is a crime, that we commit a crime if we write articles in support of him."
