For years, Israel has been preparing for the big earthquake, and now it has finally arrived. The truth is that according to the research, this type of earthquake hits Israel once every 100 years. But in our case, we have seen two Israeli prime ministers go down in police investigations in less than 10 years. One has already gone through the process, the other is just getting started.
It is important we continue to tell ourselves that Israel is not a corrupt country. Among our leadership, however, corruption has spread, and more and more of our leaders, whether at the municipal or national level, are committing this great sin. Alongside the harsh feelings we all felt Tuesday night, when police investigators announced they had sufficient evidence to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges in two separate cases, I would also like to note a certain sense of pride: pride in this country and its institutions' ability to deal with this ugly phenomenon and generate the enterprise and moral forces necessary for its exposure despite the immense pressure and heavy attacks they face. Israel was and remains a country governed by civil laws. We must defend our law enforcement system, without which Israel would lose its vital, democratic foundation.
The attacks on these systems and the attempts to undermine their credibility in recent days are severe. One doesn't have to accept the recommendations of the police or its positions, as in any democratic state, they can be criticized. But one must take care not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The police may be right and they may be wrong. I reject the claim investigators were particularly motivated to reach an indictment in the case, and I trust the attorney general, who has the last word in this process, to make the right decision.
Netanyahu is now very busy pushing back against the police recommendations, so busy that doing so is taking up the majority of his time. He must decide on a defense strategy. His entire public life now rests with Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit.
But what of the day-to-day management of state affairs? The State of Israel, the least calm state in the world, needs a full-time leader. If this all stops in the near future, then things can go back to normal. But if the process is drawn out, Netanyahu will need to focus his attention on the case. In such circumstances, he should suspend himself from the position of prime minister, a move that while reversible, would serve to separate his legal battle from the management of the state.
