Benjamin Netanyahu Indicted for Corruption Charges
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted for corruption charges on Thursday, November 21 after more than a year of investigations.
According to BBC, Netanyahu was indicted on three charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. More specifically, he has been charged with bestowing advantages upon a telecommunications company and a leading Israeli newspaper in exchange for positive press coverage. Netanyahu was subsequently charged with “receiving a frequent and continuous supply of expensive goods, while undertaking actions favourable to the benefactor.”
This is the first time that a sitting Israeli Prime Minister has been indicted on corruption charges and it does not bode well for Netanyahu’s chances of reelection. Since Netanyahu dissolved parliament in 2018, there has been a political stalemate between Netanyahu’s Likud party and the opposing Blue and White party, led by Benny Gantz, and they have been unable to form a coalition. These charges may appear to favour the latter but Joshua Mitnick, reporting for Foreign Policy, reminds us that Netanyahu has “recovered from near-defeat so many times before” and we should be cautious about ruling him out just yet.
The narrative Netanyahu is telling portrays himself as an innocent man and calls the charges an attempted coup. Foreign Policy records Netanyahu saying, “it’s aimed at overthrowing the rule of the right-wing. It’s aimed at overthrowing me,” with him then telling the Israeli public to “investigate the investigators.”
Likewise, the parallels between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are hard to miss – both use the term ‘witch hunt’ to describe media investigations and their opponent’s treatment of them. Reported in the New York Times, Mr. Mandebilt, the independent attorney general, stated that “The public interest requires that we live in a country where no one is above the law, […] This is not a matter of left or right. This is not a matter of politics.”
Many of Netanyahu’s supporters, however, are buying into Netanyahu’s version of events with several of them outside his home voicing their support after his indictment. Foreign Policy reports that Israeli law does not require a “Prime Minister to resign in the face of criminal charges” and despite calls for his resignation, Netanyahu continues to cling to power.
On the other side, Netanyahu’s critics are claiming that he is undermining the legal system and the rule of law and creating more instability with his refusal to step down as Prime Minister. Yedida Stern of the Israel Democracy Institute is reported saying, “Right now we have a dangerous situation … my Prime Minister’s strategy to escape the law is destroying the authors of the law.”
Even within his own party, Netanyahu is facing backlash. Amotz Asa-El, a political commentator, predicts in the Washington Post that Netanyahu’s charges will weaken his support in the Likud party: “When you combine his legal situation with his failure in the election, he has morphed from being a major asset to a major liability, “They will […] stab him [in the back].” This prediction is realized in a statement in the New York Times by Gideon Saar, a lawmaker in the Likud party, where he urges his party “to set a Likud leadership primary” and claims that he will “be able to form a government and […] be able to unify the nation.” While Saar faced some backlash for his disloyalty, the cracks in the Likud party are likely to deepen as Netanyahu’s prospects for forming a coalition government become increasingly slim.
Netanyahu has been an effective Prime Minister over the past decade, evident in the relative peace Israel has experienced. However, his position of power should not preclude him from being tried in court. Netanyahu should heed the advice of his opposition and step down so that the turmoil that has rocked Israel’s politics for the past year can be put to rest.