Some of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's die-hard fans have been much disappointed in what has come to light in recent years about his conduct while in office. Even if accusations against him – such as that he and his wife received valuable gifts from wealthy acquaintances – do not result in criminal convictions, it does, nevertheless, taint his image.
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On the other hand, many remain devoted, believing Netanyahu's "There will be nothing, because there is nothing" slogan. They prefer not to think that someone they admire would act so, and instead believe that all senior law enforcement officials – who the former premier himself appointed – are actually the ones conspiring against him.
They sighed in relief when Netanyahu – making the worst mistake of his life – objected to the plea deal. And now, his ardent supporters hope that evidence that was gathered against the opposition leader supposedly illegally will magically lead to the cancellation of his entire trial.
However, the Netanyahu case files are full of implicating evidence, and even if it turns out that some were acquired in ways that are not legal, it is highly unlikely that all charges against the opposition leader will be dropped.
Unlike in the United States, evidence that was derived illegally does not automatically become inadmissible in Israel. If Netanyahu has friends, they better advise him to accept the plea deal instead of chasing futile hopes.
Apartheid, again?
Occupation has been happening in Israel for over 55 years and must come to an end. Not only because the Palestinians have the right to self-determination – just like we do – but also due to the unacceptable situation in which a Jewish minority rules over a Palestinian majority.
Whoever has taken the time to read Amnesty International's 280-page report, which calls Israel an apartheid state, was most likely unconvinced that that is the case. However, declaring that the London-based group is antisemitic is not helpful either.
The report is vexing not only because it has inaccuracies, but because it makes it seem that inequality is created via a calculated policy by the Israeli government. It is not. Whoever supports this view is essentially saying that there is nothing to do other than call on world powers to impose sanctions on Israel, which will not happen.
Anyone who truly knows Israel, like me, can instead oppose the nation-state law, which leads to inequality and, therefore, must be repealed. This is crucial to understand: unlike late 19th century South Africa, Israel does not limit people of different backgrounds from living together.
Israel is defined as a democracy by all indexes, even if in some list it as a flawed democracy, just like the United States. An apartheid state cannot be a democracy or a half-democracy.
Amnesty International sought to raise a red flag, but instead, started a fire and weakened their own argument due to a lack of differentiation between the situation in sovereign Israel and the situation in Judea and Samaria and the unilateral stance they adopted.
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