Hadas Klein, a key witness in the corruption trial of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified Tuesday that her billionaire boss – Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan – ordered her to deliver gifts of champagne, cigars, and expensive jewelry to the then-premier in a scandal at the center of Israel's political crisis.

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The expensive gifts lavished upon the former Israeli leader by wealthy friends are the subject of one of the three corruption cases against Netanyahu. He stands accused of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes, charges he has denied and dismissed as part of an attempt to oust him from office.

Klein, Milchan's longtime assistant, told the Jerusalem District Court that she had been instructed to buy gifts for the prime minister and his wife so that Milchan could stay in the couple's good graces.

The ongoing trial – already in its second year – is addressing allegations that while in office, Netanyahu accepted gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.

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State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman warned last week that Israel is grossly underprepared for the ramifications of an actual cyberwar.

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"We are exposed. Our data is visible to too many people. Our transactions are exposed, our children are exposed, our health [information] is exposed, our security is exposed. World War III will be a cyberwar, but the world is not ready for it," Englman said Wednesday at Cyber Week 2022, the annual international cybersecurity expo hosted by Tel Aviv University.

Audits by the State Comptroller's Office have found significant failures in Israel's cyber readiness in major hospitals, Tax Authority, and municipal transportation direction systems, he said.

Many of the public bodies audited were found to have performed only basic hacking drills – some only during the time of the audit he said.

He also warned that the central election committee was unprepared to ward off cyber threats – a point that has significant implications given that Israel is heading toward its fifth elections in three years.

"We at the State Comptroller's Office undertake to continue to address this significant issue, for the benefit of the Israeli public," he concluded.

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Former chairman of United Torah Judaism Yakov Litzman was convicted on charges of breach of trust.

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Litzman admitted to the charges as part of the plea bargain in the case of Malka Leifer, a suspected sexual predator who was the center of lengthy extradition proceedings at the request of Australia, where she allegedly committed the crimes.

Litzman will be sentenced on July 14, the court decided, at which time the court will rule on whether to uphold the terms of the bargain, which would see Litzman serve probation and pay a fine of 3,000 shekels ($890).

The plea bargain also required Litzman to resign from the Knesset, which he did this week.

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The family of a terror victim has filed a multimillion dollars lawsuit against Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip, with the Jerusalem District Court, Israel Hayom learned Sunday.

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The plaintiffs are the family of veteran police officer Pascal Avrahami, who was killed in a terrorist attack in southern Israel. They are seeking 60 million shekels ($18 million) in damages.

Pascal, 49, a decorated Police Counterterrorism Unit sniper, was one of eight victims killed in a Hamas shooting that targeted Israeli vehicles traveling on Highway 12, near the Israel-Egypt border, on Aug. 18, 2011. Forty others were wounded in the attack.

The families of several other victims have also joined the suit.

"Previous rulings in Israel recognize the authority of the Israeli court to award punitive damages in a case such as these, which involve intentional or malicious infliction of injustice," the lawsuit states.

"The defendant's conduct had a sole purpose: to murder and terrorize. … and we hereby appeal to the court to award the plaintiffs punitive and/or deterrent and/or exemplary compensation."

Avrahami's mother told Israel Hayom, "When I see what's going on in the news – I can't believe what has become of us. We give them [terrorists] luxury conditions in prison – they even get to earn a [college] degree – but what about the bereaved families? The orphaned and the parents?

"If every family demands compensation from the organization that sent them to murder women and children, maybe that will help."

Yaakov Rand, a lawfare expert representing the families, said that the lawsuit was "part of an ongoing campaign against terrorists, terrorist groups, and anyone who supports them by affording the financial infrastructure for terrorism."

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Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Chief Justice Esther Hayut, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion announced Sunday the establishment of a new hall of justice in the capital.

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The compound will house the city's lower courts, including the Magistrate's, District, Traffic, Family, and Juvenile courts, as well as the National Labor Court, and will be located near the government complex.

The hall will exclude the Supreme Court and High Court of Justice as they already have a modern facility nearby.

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A Ministry of Economy and Industry agency charged with overseeing vocational colleges has recently sent out an instructional video aimed at helping educators deal with Arab-Israeli tensions during Independence Day in which it implicitly recognized Israel's founding as a negative development for Palestinians. 

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Palestinians usually refer to Israel's independence as the Nakba, which means catastrophe in Arabic, and occasionally hold anti-Israel events on May 15, the date in 1948 when Israel declared statehood. 

Video: Ministry of Economy and Industry

In the video, which was sent along with a written document, was sent to the directors of various colleges in Israel, it said: "We must recognize that Independence Day is Nakba Day [Catastrophe Day] for Arab citizens and allow such workers not to stand in silence during the siren on Memorial Day." The presenters also added, "Expressing joyfulness during Independence Day can be misconstrued as disrespect for Nakba Day." 

The official government video shows an Arab man and a Jewish woman, with the former saying "Nakba Day" and the latter "Independence Day". It calls on college directors to adopt a "flexible" approach to Arabs who resist taking part in the moment of silence when the sirens blast nationwide. "Be considerate of those who want to avoid being present during those times," it says, referring to both Arabs and Jews.  

In response to an Israel Hayom inquiry, the ministry issued the following statement: "The colleges under our supervision serve as a home for all sectors of society in Israel and allow a fusion of various cultures and socioeconomic mobility for the student population. The document comprises general points that were devised by a research institution under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It is important to make it clear that this is not a binding document and it does not reflect the ministry's views. The document was sent to several ministries as general advice. However, we have been made aware of the controversy and therefore all colleges will get a clarification." 

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It is highly probable that another Knesset member will resign from the coalition, Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu has told several of his close confidantes in recent days, Israel Hayom has learned.

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The Opposition is aiming for the potential defection to be announced as soon as this week, even before a Knesset committee convenes on Monday, at Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's request, to discuss the matter of Yamina rebel MK Amichai Chikly's ouster from the party. According to reports, the Ra'am party, a coalition member, is expected to boycott the meeting.

Last week, Likud MK Ofir Akunis said: "Next week, an announcement should be made that will shake the coalition, after which they will lose the equal number of seats they have in the Knesset."

Religious Zionism Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich said, "I know about [defectors] with a certainty. I won't get into names but I can say with certainty that the government is finished."

The belief is that in recent weeks, mainly following the resignation of former MK Yamina MK Idit Silman and the fact that the coalition no longer has a majority in the Knesset, intensive talks have been held between Opposition representatives, among them Netanyahu and Smotrich, and MKs from the Yamina and New Hope parties with the intention of securing additional resignations from the coalition and a parliamentary majority for the Opposition – which would expedite the government's downfall.

The Knesset is only scheduled to return from its spring recess on May 8.

For their part, senior coalition officials say they are more worried about Ra'am that another defector.

"People don't understand the pressure the Arab representatives are under. If the security situation escalates, it will be even more difficult for them [to remain in the government]," one senior coalition official said. "[Ra'am chairman] Mansour Abbas is a big believer in the coalition and in no way wants to resign or dismantle it, but within his party the mood is different. People such as [MK] Mazen Ghanem or [MK] Waleed Taha are under a great deal of pressure and don't see themselves as directly subordinate to Abbas. It's impossible to tell what will happen there."

In the Yamina party, meanwhile, officials say they've stopped the bleeding in the wake of Silman's defection and insist no one else will follow in her steps. The brunt of the focus has been on MKs Ayelet Shaked, Nir Orbach, and Abir Kara who, according to their close associates, are not currently interested in resigning.

"The strategy is to take the crisis surrounding Silman's resignation and leverage it into accomplishments and wins for the right-wing public," one Yamina official said.

"The Left is just as anxious as the Right. On the left side of the government, they also know that if the government falls apart their chances of returning to power are slim. They want to preserve this government, which is why more significant inroads for the Right are possible, which will placate the right-wing public," the official added.

Meanwhile, Chikli's request last week to delay Monday's Knesset hearing until at least May 25, when the Knesset is scheduled to return from recess, was denied by Deputy Knesset Speaker Eitan Ginzburg – who will oversee the debate.

"The date of the House Committee's meeting to discuss the request to declare MK Chikli's ouster from Yamina was determined as is customary at the House Committee and after further examination, we do not intend to change it," Ginzburg wrote in a letter to Chikli's lawyer.

The Blue and White lawmaker also denied Chikli's request to have Bennett and fellow Yamina minister Shaked testify at his hearing.

"The committee is not run like a court," Ginzburg wrote. "The committee does not invite ministers and Knesset members to serve as witnesses in order to prove arguments at the hearing, and no investigations are held there."

Ginzburg told Chikli and his team to prepare their arguments "so they will be heard in one meeting," adding that he does not intend to hold further hearings.

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In his petition to the committee to delay the hearing, Chikli's attorney Guy Bossi wrote that it "was scheduled in haste," was "lacking legal and public foundations," and that Bennett's "forbidden influence" was the only reason it was scheduled.

"Please enlighten the petitioner that we are still a democratic country, that he is not a king or sultan, and despite his desire to do harm and evil, this does not abolish fundamental rights," Bossi wrote.

Yamina said Chikli has consistently voted against the party's views, including in hundreds of votes on the state budget.

However, Chikli has said Bennett and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked have gone against the party's views, not him.

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Dramatic political changes happen, on the whole, as a complete surprise, but Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar says he knew about the most dramatic political development of recent weeks – MK Idit Silman's defection to Likud – well in advance and even warned about it.

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"I wasn't surprised," he says in an interview with Israel Hayom. "I discussed it with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett several times the week before, and I told him very clearly there were serious contacts with Likud."

Q: How did you know?

"I have friends in the Likud and it's always good to get real-time intelligence. I knew there was contact. I warned about them. The first time was a week before she made her announcement. The second was two days before it."

Q: Didn't Bennett do anything? What did he say?

"I don't want to go into detail about what was said in our conversation, but I knew what was going on."

Q: Doesn't that make Bennett's slip up even bigger?

"I don't exclude the possibility that it could have been prevented, but that's all in retrospect. The effort invested by the Opposition in this move was intense."

Q: What made Silman break?

"I don't want to analyze the situation. I understand, from what I've read, that Silman was promised certain positions in the Knesset and the next government. So forgive me if I can't see it as some kind of ideological enlightenment."

Q: Do you think she's an opportunist?

"When I reached the conclusion in December 2020 that I could no longer be part of the Likud, I went to the faction chairman and submitted my resignation. I didn't know then that there would be an election. I took a risk. In my opinion, that's the way to behave. Today, it seems to be taken for granted that you can try and bribe MKs from one faction to defect to another faction."

Q: You took people from the Likud, [MKs] Michal Shir and Sharren Haskel.

"They both submitted their resignations."

Q: They knew they had a place with New Hope. What's the difference?

"It was obvious they would go with me, but the issue of their place on the list never came up. Silman knows she'll be on the [Likud] list, but hasn't submitted her resignation. She's holding on to her seat. I like clarity and integrity. If, as reported, she received promises about [a place on the] Likud list for the next Knesset and a cabinet position, then it's not honorable or ideological. I find it difficult to be impressed or enthused by Silman's move."

Q: Are you sure there are no defectors in your camp?

"Do you know how many times people have said that to me? Prior to the Knesset elections, during negotiations, and all the way through the establishment of the government. We never had defectors or rebels, and it won't happen. New Hope is united."

Q: Are you sure that none of your MKs are in contact with other parties?

"I know what's happening, I know that Likud is sending messages to everyone, including me. I've received very generous offers, not only now, but also before the government was formed. Until a few days ago, MK Silman was enthusiastically persuading people to support the coalition. Suddenly she changes her mind a few days after the end of the Knesset session? What happened? I don't like it when people hold on to their seat while also receiving promises from the other side. "

Sa'ar is one of the most experienced politicians in the Knesset. He has been through some stuff and and knows what goes on behind the scenes. He has been involved in the complex work of stitching together coalitions and is a veteran of countless political ploys. Recently, he claimed that there were criminal aspects to the pressure applied on Silman and others in Yamina.

"I stand behind everything I said. If people accuse others of being traitors and threaten MKs and their families, that is extremely serious and could be criminal. This is a violent campaign that penetrates the personal and family space to impose fear and terror. This campaign also includes things that, even if they aren't criminal, aren't legitimate. What Bezalel  Smotrich said might not be criminal, but calling to ban people from synagogues is, in my opinion, illegitimate."

Q: Is that what pushed Silman over the edge?

"I don't want to get into the specifics of this case. The combination is one of pressure and temptation. On one hand, people vilify you and on the other, they promise you the whole world."

Q: How will the government and the coalition survive?

"It's too early to make any forecasts, but there will be a need for action. Things will have to be decided ahead of the summer session of the Knesset in May."
Q: What could change? Could Silman return?

"All sorts of things could happen. I'm not going to deal with speculations. We will have to see what the situation is. It was difficult before and it will be even more difficult now to maintain the coalition. We will have to make an effort to maintain a functioning government. I hope this effort will succeed. It's not impossible, but it isn't certain, either."

Q: The way things are, it looks like the budget won't pass.

"Not necessarily. There have been budgets that have passed thanks to agreements with Opposition MKs, but there's no doubt that passing any law now, including the budget, will be more difficult."

Q: You don't have a majority anymore. It's 60:60 in the Knesset. Does a government like this have legitimacy?

"There were governments that had a narrower parliamentary basis. A new election is a bad option."

Q: Would you depend on the Joint Arab List?

"That's fiction. There's no option of the Joint Arab List joining the coalition."

Q: Would you rely on it from the outside for certain laws?

"The Likud is responsible for all the parliamentary achievements of the Joint List in the current Knesset – a hospital in Sakhnin, and exemption from municipal taxes for religious institutions. Likud is the one cooperating with the Joint Arab List. In general, it's common practice in every Knesset to cooperate with them, on two conditions: That they are not part of the coalition, and we don't compromise our principles."

Eulogize Sa'ar at your own risk

Aug. 27, 2023, is the day the government is due to rotate, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid slated to become prime minister. Sa'ar has said that asking him whether he would sit in a government under Lapid was like asking him whether he would sit under Peter Pan, but now that the government has been in place for 10 months, he takes a different tone.

"A day before the election, I said very clearly that I didn't rule out a rotation with Lapid." Sa'ar reminds us.

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"I said that there was no chance I would sit in a government under Lapid if was built entirely on left-wing parties. A 'paritetic' rotation government, like this current government, is a completely different story. "

Q: How worried are you by polls that show you won't pass the minimum threshold in an election? If those numbers are right, you won't be in the next Knesset.

"You can see the considerable differences in the results of polls commissioned by different media outlets. There are polls in which I make it through and that raises questions, but I certainly expect to do a lot better in the true test, the election. I have to emphasize that I'm not where I'd like to be, but remember that throughout most of the last election campaign, Benny Gantz was below the election threshold. The same goes for Ra'am and Meretz, and the final results were different. In the end, with all due respect to polls, it's the results at the ballot  box that count.

"I'm calm and sure of my path. There's an organized campaign coming from within the Likud that is saying we won't pass the threshold. We've surprised people so many times and managed to disappoint those who have eulogized us, and we will this time, as well."

Q: If the polls continue to put you below the threshold, will you join forces with Bennett or someone else?

"I intend to run with New Hope. There's no other plan. We don't plan to partner with anyone else."

Q: You protested when Likud activists heckled and threw eggs at your political events during the election campaign.  Recently, there was a violent incident at one of your events. We didn't hear anything from you.

"It wasn't a New Hope activist. [He] sneaked into our convention using a false identity. He wanted to disrupt the convention."

Q: How do you explain the violence against him? He was injured and photos show bruises on his back.

"He refused to leave and was dragged on the floor. His back was on the floor. We'll look into whether there was any violence and reach conclusions. I condemn any violence. There was an attempt to stop a reporter from taking photos. That's wrong and unacceptable."

Q: You are promoting several personal laws against Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the Facebook Law and the Search Law. Some would argue they present a danger to individual liberties and a danger to democracy.

 "All these laws were originally put forth by people who now oppose them. When [Ehud] Olmert was prime minister, Netanyahu voted for a bill that stated that a prime minister under indictment could not serve. Both these laws were tabled by Likud, which then dropped them.

"These are two crucial laws. During the current wave of terrorism, the law against incitement on social media (The Facebook Law) is more relevant than ever. If videos are being circulated hailing terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens and can lead to copycat attacks, shouldn't that be stopped? Is it undemocratic to block these videos?

"The Search Law [expanding police powers to conduct searches without a warrant] is also crucial. Our problem with crime in the Arab sector is in solving these crimes. The murderers and their masters are walking about freely among the Arab public.

"Arab citizens want the police to restore order, but they're afraid of the criminal organizations. Some crimes are recorded on camera in public spaces. There are places where the police need to seize video immediately. Of course, there are limitations, such as requiring police authorization and the use of temporary orders, but the law is intended to serve as a tool to allow the police to immediately seize videos and not have to wait for a warrant. Otherwise, in the meantime, criminal organizations and people who are afraid of these criminal organizations will get there first and erase the materials. The police need the tools and the authority to deal with crime. I say to Likud, 'You're responsible for the lack of governance. And now you want to stop us from working?' It's outrageous."

Splitting the powers of the Attorney General

Sa'ar is a reformist minister and many of the reforms he wants to pass have already gone through. For example, hearings before the appointment of Supreme Court judges. "This is huge," says Sa'ar. "At the end of the day, it's based on the fact that we and the justices work for the public and are required to be transparent."

Sa'ar explains that this is the second time in the history of the state that there has been a significant change in the way Supreme Court justices are elected.

"The first was 15 years ago, when I passed a law that required a special majority to elect a judge to the Supreme Court. That completely changed the map because it required compromise, which leads to a more heterogeneous and diverse court. Today the Supreme Court is far more diverse in terms of judicial points of view."

Sa'ar emphasizes that his goal is not to "duplicate" his worldviews in every judge in order to create influence.

"I would never select a judge that I think isn't professional, even if they voted for my party," he says. "They must be jurists of the highest level. The Supreme Court must be a heterogeneous place where it is not evident what the court will rule and it surprises every time in the direction it chooses. The politicization of the judicial system is not a good thing.

"Our selection this time was very diverse – two women and two men, and, for the first time, a Muslim judge was elected. I think  that's very important. I wouldn't pick an unsuitable candidate because he was from a particular ethnic community, but if possible, we should create a situation where the court represents all the colors of the state of Israel."

Not a supporter of judicial activism

Coincidentally (or not) Sa'ar's candidate for the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ended up getting the job. They don't agree on every issue, but he says they work together in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. "We disagreed, for example, on the Basic Law defending the rights of defendants in a criminal trial," Sa'ar says. "We went through every clause, but in matters of legislation, if there is no judicial obstacle, the decision is mine."

Q: Where do things stand with the division of powers of the Attorney General?

"The model is currently being worked out. I spoke about this with the Attorney General prior to her being picked for the job. We still haven't had a working meeting on this issue, but this will happen soon. I intend for it to happen as I do every other issue that I have spoken about."

When Sa'ar is asked about the tension between the executive and legislative branches when it comes to interference in government decisions, he defends the judicial system. "The court won't interfere in everything that the government does. Look at the statistics on petitions to the High Court. In most cases, the government position is accepted and petitions against legislation are rejected. But I haven't hidden in the past and I don't hide today that I am not a proponent of judicial activism. I believe in judicial restraint, in that the court needs to respect other authorities."

Q: Last week your office approved a bill to connect settlement outposts to the electricity grid, but Palestinian villages are also being connected, a move you opposed in the past. Why have you changed your position?

"We have no intention of legitimizing moves by the Palestinian Authority to take over land in Area C. We want to provide a solution for dozens of Israeli communities after more than 20 years. Unfortunately, this issue was neglected for many years."

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A former top aide to Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand for the first time Wednesday against the former Israeli prime minister engulfed in corruption charges over a scheme to generate positive news coverage.

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Shlomo Filber, the director of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu and one of two former aides to testify for the prosecution, said Netanyahu wanted him to "mitigate" competition for Israel's Bezeq telecom company, a move worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In return, Bezeq's popular news site, Walla, allegedly provided favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his family.

Netanyahu, now the opposition leader, denies any wrongdoing and says the charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery amount to a witch hunt. But the case has cast a deep shadow over his family and his legacy as Israel's longest-serving prime minister.

Like the previous aide-turned-state's witness, Nir Hefetz, Filber described the former Israeli premier as being image-obsessed.

"Netanyahu is hands-off, lets you do your work, he doesn't get involved in the micro. Except when it has to do with things that really matter to him – like media," Filber testified, with Netanyahu and members of his family a few feet away in the small courtroom. "In those cases, I could get five to six calls a day."

Netanyahu is charged in three separate cases. The first alleges that Netanyahu received gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy associates.

In the second case, Netanyahu is accused of orchestrating positive coverage in a major Israeli paper in exchange for promoting legislation that would have harmed the news outlet's chief rival, a free pro-Netanyahu daily.

Israeli media has cast the third case as highly dependent on testimony from Filber, dubbed as "the witness without whom Case 4000 might not exist."

An emotional Filber told the court Wednesday that it was clear to him that Netanyahu wanted him "not to eliminate competition (for Bezeq) but to mitigate it," then made a hand gesture that suggested a plane landing, according to a pool report of the court proceedings.

"Elovitch reached out to me and told me he has problems with the ministry, a consultancy that set wrong prices," Filber said, describing that message as, "'Don't stop competition, but see if you can moderate it.'"

Asked if what Netanyahu asked him would help Elovitch, Filber answered, "Yes," adding later that there were "50 shades of gray" in how the former premier communicated his request.

Pressed, Filber said he perceived Netanyahu's instruction as an "action item" which he had to swiftly act on.

Filber's testimony echoed that of Nir Hefetz, formerly Netanyahu's family spokesman, as being the main envoy between Netanyahu and Elovitch. Hefetz said Elovitch's wife, Iris, personally took control over the news site.

"Netanyahu had the greatest control over the Walla website, including what the headline would be, where it would be on the home page," Hefetz said. "I thought the Elovitches were doing a good job."

Hefetz told the court last year that Netanyahu was a "control freak" when it came to his public image and spent "at least as much as his time on media as he spends on security matters."

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Israelis from all walks of life are losing faith in law enforcement agencies as well as the judiciary, a study presented at the Haifa Conference on Politics and Arab Society in Israel, hosted earlier this week by the University of Haifa, has found.

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Professor Gideon Fishman and Prof. Arie Ratner, of the Department of Sociology at the University of Haifa, have been polling public confidence in the judiciary and law enforcement for 22 years, since 2000.

The index measures the levels of trust the Israeli public places in the police, the courts in general, and the Supreme Court on a scale of 1-10, with one signaling deep distrust and 10 expressing high confidence.

The data show that over the index's 22 years there has been a consistent drop in public confidence in law enforcement among both the Jewish and Arab public. While in 2000, 23% of Arab Israelis expressed great confidence in the police, only 18% said the same in 2022, and while 31% of Jewish Israelis had faith in law enforcement in 2000, only 22% said to in 2022.

In Jewish society, men were more distrusting of the police than women with only 24% of women and 19% of men expressing faith in law enforcement.

In Arab society, 19% of men express great trust in the police compared to 14% of women.

The public also showed great mistrust in the judiciary: In 2000, 46% of Arab Israelis said they had faith in the courts compared to only 30% in 2022. Among Jews, 59% has faith in the judiciary in 2000, while only 33% said as much in 2022.

Confidence in the Supreme Court has been massively eroded over the past two decades, the poll found. In 2000, 66% of Arab Israelis expressed great confidence in the Supreme Court, compared to 39% in 2022. Among Jews, 79% expresses faith in the Supreme Court in 2000 compared to 43% in 2022.

Gender-wise, more Jewish women (45%) express confidence in the Supreme Court compared to Jewish men (41%), while in Arab society the situation is reversed: more Arab men (40%) express great confidence in the Supreme Court compared to Arab women (34%).

"There's a process of convergence between the levels of trust of Jews and Arabs along the index's 22 years, but the results from both Jews and Arabs show that both are dissatisfied with law enforcement, with the decline in trust in the Jewish sector being steeper," Fishman said.

"The findings are very troubling," Ratner added. "Trust is vital for the functioning of systems and especially for the legal system. In our case, I don't want to think about where we would end up if we continue down this slippery slope."

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