The more Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu's trial moves forward, the more it appears the unprecedented indictment, in which hundreds of millions of shekels have been invested and which has dragged Israel into a state of political chaos beneath the "anyone but Netanyahu" slogan, was in fact aimed at promoting a government revolution. And it worked. Central witnesses for the prosecution, who are mainly state witnesses, have now become witnesses for the defense.
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Police investigators on the witness stand say they did not really know what they were supposed to investigate, beyond the expectation they find a few testimonies to incriminate a target marked as corrupt in advance. The investigative methods have been revealed to be questionable and bolster the impression witnesses were improperly pressured and told what to say, among other things. Such methods are reminiscent of those used in dark regimes that combine propaganda, mass psychology, and disinformation.
It seems every reasonable citizen with the ability to think critically has now come to understand that it is not just the opposition leader who is on trial but senior law enforcement officials who severely damaged Israeli democracy. We will pay for the damage they did for many years to come. When the law enforcement system, out of a Nietzschean desire for power, deals with the elected system and tries to depict it as ignorant, corrupt, and submissive, the result is the public's loss of trust in the judiciary. There cannot be genuine rule of law when the level of trust in the law enforcement system diminishes to an unprecedented low.
Netanyahu therefore did right by the State of Israel when he refused to surrender and decided to fight for his innocence under the difficult conditions set out by a hostile media and tough funding restrictions, and while facing a large army waving false flags. Had he quit, the cases would have likely been closed, and his bitter rivals in the media would have praised his courage. His obstinacy will pay off for all of us and will ultimately lead to the comprehensive and vital repair of the justice system.
In recent days, the question of a plea deal has been brought to the agenda. This is a complicated issue and an agonizing deliberation. We must, however, differentiate between the private and the public realm. In the private realm, all reasonable people understand Netanyahu's chances of receiving a fair trial are slim. A sweeping acquittal on all accounts would be a harsh indictment of the law enforcement and justice systems to which the court belongs. Under these circumstances, it may be better to sign a plea deal that could save a lot of aggravation and years of litigation that could serve as fuel for the slanderous campaign.
Even if he were to decide to sign a plea deal, Netanayahu was right not to agree to do so earlier on. His willingness to come this far has served to expose much of the State Attorney's Office's shame, negligence, and bias. We must accept every decision he makes from this point on.
Yet out of genuine concern for national values and the future of the state and citizens' willingness to respect the law, the trial must go on. The many donors who contributed to Netanyahu's defense campaign, which managed to raise impressive funds in hours, did so in the belief that the law enforcement system needs to be fixed. This is not about charity for Netanyahu. It's about the belief that only he can now lead the struggle to reveal the distortion and fix the justice system.
Otherwise, every other elected official will be at the mercy of the system, which will allow it to govern or shorten its tenure as it sees fit. In this manner, Israeli democracy will be handed over to a small and unelected oligarchy whose senior representatives will always find themselves in cushy positions after concluding their public service roles as Israel's true leaders.
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