Nadene Goldfoot
The salary Benjamin Netanyahu makes monthly is $4,500 of a net annual salary of $54,000. A lot is taken out; after deduction of taxes, insurance and car expenses. Sarah, his wife, was ripe to accepting gifts. Compare that to his peer, an American president's salary : According to Title 3 of the US code, a president earns a $400,000 salary and is still on government payroll after leaving office. The president is also granted a $50,000 annual expense account, $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment. To top that, foreign billionaire "friends" have been wining and dining the Netanyahus so as I see it, Netanyahu fell onto his court-room end of times for his profession.
"Since January 2017, Netanyahu has been investigated and questioned by Israeli police in two cases, "Case 1000" and "Case 2000". The two cases are connected. By the 3 August 2017, Israeli police confirmed for the first time that Netanyahu was suspected of crimes involving fraud, breach of trust, and bribes in cases "1000" and "2000". A 4000 will come up later.
"James Douglas Packer, born 1967, is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor. Packer is the son of Kerry Packer AC, a media mogul, and his wife, Roslyn Packer AC. He is the grandson of Sir Frank Packer. He was the richest person in Australia in 2006 and 2007. Forbes Asia magazine assessed Packer's net worth at US$3.6 billion in January 2019, the ninth-richest Australian. Packer was educated at Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, Sydney. After obtaining the Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Cranbrook, he began working at his father's extensive Newcastle Waters cattle station in the Barkly Tableland of the Northern Territory, where he was a jackeroo. Packer has stated he did not attend university as he "didn't have the marks"."
"In late 2016, Israeli Police started looking into reports that Packer gave members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's family gifts and benefits. Packer, who is trying to gain residency in Israel, has taken the first step and registered with Israeli tax authorities. By February 2018, Packer was mentioned in an Israeli Police report recommending the prosecution of Netanyahu on corruption charges for accepting bribes, and acting against the interests of the state of Israel. Packer is mentioned in the report to have provided Netanyahu and his family members with champagne, cigars, jewelry and clothing valued at approximately US$100,000."
This wasn't all of Netanyahu's "sins." It is said that " the Netanyahus used Packer's adjacent beachside house when he wasn't there. A family friend in his twenties was allegedly given a job at Packer's private company. Packer watched Netanyahu speak to the US Congress from a VIP seat." Oh my. Me thinks that Sarah is the real villain, here, and Benyamin has been taking the brunt of her mistakes from having a billionaire buddy. What was just mentioned in this paragraph are things a rich friend might do for someone in the USA without being slapped in the face or taken to court because of it.
II. Case 2000 involves alleged attempts to strike a deal with the publisher of the Yedioth Ahronot newspaper group, Arnon Mozes, b: 1953, to promote legislation to weaken Yedioth's main competitor, Israel Hayom, in exchange for more favorable coverage of Netanyahu.
Shortly after announcing that he has charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with fraud, bribery and breach of trust in three criminal cases he is embroiled in, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided Thursday to indict three key individuals involved the cases against the premier. One was the Yedioth Achronot publisher, Arnon Mozes, the very man who accused Netanyahu of such doings.
Avichai Mandelblit (Hebrew: אביחי מנדלבליט; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who serves as the Attorney General of Israel. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually serving as the Chief Military Advocate General between 2004 and 2011. In February 2016, he was appointed Attorney General. In November 2019, following a three-year investigation, Mandelblit formally indicted Israel's sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with three charges of fraud and breach of trust, and one charge of bribery.
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| Ari Harow, on left, and Netanyahu in Likud faction meeting , November 24, 2014. (Miriam Alster/Flash90) court |
"Since January 2017, Netanyahu has been investigated and questioned by Israeli police in two cases, "Case 1000" and "Case 2000". The two cases are connected. By the 3 August 2017, Israeli police confirmed for the first time that Netanyahu was suspected of crimes involving fraud, breach of trust, and bribes in cases "1000" and "2000". A 4000 will come up later.
The next day, it was reported that the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, Ari Harow, had signed a deal with prosecutors to testify against Netanyahu in these cases." "The newspapers explain that Harow, who has been under investigation since mid-2015 on suspicion of using his ties to Netanyahu to advance private business interests, is a key figure in two corruption probes, dubbed “Case 1000” and “Case 2000,” both of which allegedly involve the prime minister himself. Harow is reportedly willing to provide information in both probes."
As is often the case with the more center-left Israeli papers, the Harow coverage in Haaretz and Yedioth is tainted with a bit of schadenfreude about Netanyahu’s difficulties". It's exactly the same situation in the USA with newspapers and TV coverage slanting their news to benefit either the Democrats or Republicans. They all do anything they can get away with to push their man into the power seat.
The paper, which was once considered a mouthpiece for the prime minister, has recently turned away from him somewhat and harshly criticized him over his handling of the clashes and tensions surrounding the Temple Mount over the past three weeks. Netanyahu is keeping the Temple Mount rules strict against Jews instead of allowing more leniency in praying there, probably in order to keep the peace with Jordan, who has rights there, given to them at the end of the 1967 War by Moshe Dayan. Then again, we have Orthodox rabbis also saying that Jews cannot be there as they would desecrate the place by standing over the special area of the 2nd Temple that only the High Priest was allowed. There are multiple opinions concerning the Temple Mount area. Benyamin's job is to keep all Israelis safe. His is not to bring about the Moshiach. Evidently he feels Israel is not ready to light the spark of a 3rd World War. Haaretz Newspaper was especially harsh against Netanyahu on this, the newspaper of the left.
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| Arnon Milchan , born 1944, is an Israeli billionaire businessman and film producer. He has been involved in over 130 full-length motion pictures and is the founder of production company Regency Enterprises. Regency's film credits include 12 Years a Slave, JFK, Heat, Fight Club, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith |
I. In Case 1000, Netanyahu is suspected of having obtained inappropriate favors from businessmen, including James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. Milchan has earned two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture, for L.A. Confidential and The Revenant. He is an Israeli and American citizen, and lives in Tel Aviv.
Hayom Newspaper, however, prominently features an interview with retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who warns that people opposed to the prime minister are using the legal system in an attempt to oust the Jewish state leader. “The judiciary in Israel and in the US has become a tool for those who have lost in the elections,” Dershowitz tells Israel Hayom. Dershowitz, who has worked on a number of high-profile cases, insists that his concerns are not related to Netanyahu per se, but to the way in which the legal battles involving sitting prime ministers or presidents are conducted. “I have no problem with [Attorney General Avichai] Mandelblit investigating Netanyahu, I have a problem with the protesters who are demanding that he do so… I am very much concerned about Israeli democracy, and it has nothing to do with Netanyahu, it has to do with any controversial prime minister in the future.”
From what I've pieced together, Sarah, Benyamin's wife, contacted James Packer. She "called the office of a movie producer, Arnon Milchan, who had agreed to split the cost of requests from the prime ministerial spouse with a younger family friend he had introduced to elite Israeli society, James Packer."
This is when I heard the ridiculous accusation that Netanyahu was in trouble for accepting a box of cigars. Seems to me that Packer, not a Jew, was being used by the left against Netanyahu; something to charge him with. Not being Jewish, one wonders why he wanted to live in iSRAEL. Packer began attending the Church of Scientology in Australia, taking courses on the Church's Dundas business centre in 2002. He subsequently confirmed his involvement with Scientology, saying he had found it "helpful". He later distanced himself from the church.
This wasn't all of Netanyahu's "sins." It is said that " the Netanyahus used Packer's adjacent beachside house when he wasn't there. A family friend in his twenties was allegedly given a job at Packer's private company. Packer watched Netanyahu speak to the US Congress from a VIP seat." Oh my. Me thinks that Sarah is the real villain, here, and Benyamin has been taking the brunt of her mistakes from having a billionaire buddy. What was just mentioned in this paragraph are things a rich friend might do for someone in the USA without being slapped in the face or taken to court because of it.
II. Case 2000 involves alleged attempts to strike a deal with the publisher of the Yedioth Ahronot newspaper group, Arnon Mozes, b: 1953, to promote legislation to weaken Yedioth's main competitor, Israel Hayom, in exchange for more favorable coverage of Netanyahu.
Shortly after announcing that he has charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with fraud, bribery and breach of trust in three criminal cases he is embroiled in, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided Thursday to indict three key individuals involved the cases against the premier. One was the Yedioth Achronot publisher, Arnon Mozes, the very man who accused Netanyahu of such doings.
Avichai Mandelblit (Hebrew: אביחי מנדלבליט; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who serves as the Attorney General of Israel. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually serving as the Chief Military Advocate General between 2004 and 2011. In February 2016, he was appointed Attorney General. In November 2019, following a three-year investigation, Mandelblit formally indicted Israel's sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with three charges of fraud and breach of trust, and one charge of bribery.
On 13 February 2018, Israeli police recommended that Netanyahu be charged with corruption. According to a police statement, sufficient evidence exists to indict the prime minister on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in the two cases. Netanyahu responded that the allegations were baseless and that he would continue as prime minister. On 25 November 2018, it was reported that Economic Crimes Division Director Liat Ben-Ari recommended indictment for both cases." It seems that if one charge doesn't destroy him, they throw another at him. Netanyahu has been charged during the years from 2016-2019 and it has continued into 2020. He and Trump are having similar experiences of the losing party finding much fault with them.
On 28 February 2019, the Israeli attorney general announced his intent to file indictments against Netanyahu on bribe and fraud charges in three different cases.
Israel Hayom wrote, " It centers on conversations Netanyahu had with Mozes, during which they allegedly discussed striking an illicit deal by which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister using his influence to curtail Israel Hayom's activities in ways that would benefit Yedioth financially. The agreement was never implemented."
Israel Hayom wrote, " It centers on conversations Netanyahu had with Mozes, during which they allegedly discussed striking an illicit deal by which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister using his influence to curtail Israel Hayom's activities in ways that would benefit Yedioth financially. The agreement was never implemented."
Netanyahu was formally indicted on 21 November 2019. If Netanyahu is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison for bribery and a maximum of three years for fraud and breach of trust. He is the first sitting prime minister in Israel's history to be charged with a crime. On 23 November 2019, it was announced that Netanyahu, in compliance with legal precedent set by the Israeli Supreme Court in 1993, would relinquish his agriculture, health, social affairs and diaspora affairs portfolios. The matter of forcing a prime minister to resign due to an indictment has yet to be tested in court. He was officially charged on 28 January 2020.
Netanyahu's criminal trial is set to begin on 24 May 2020, having been initially scheduled for March of that year but delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although Mandelblit had a close working relationship with Netanyahu dating back to Mandelblit's time as IDF's Military Advocate General, Mandelblit pursued criminal probes into Netanyahu relating to allegations of corruption by the prime minister and his associates. In July 2016, Mandelblit opened an initial review of Netanyahu's conduct in an unspecified case, and was criticized by some on the left who viewed Mandelblit as protecting the prime minister. After the separate "Case 2000" (Yediot Aharonot-Israel Hayom affair) against Netanyahu emerged, Mandelblit moved slowly on the case. In September 2017, Mandelblit indicted the prime minister's wife, Sara Netanyahu; as part of a plea agreement, Sara Netanyahu was ordered to pay the equivalent of US$15,000.
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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his ballot for the parliamentary election as his son Yair stands behind him at a polling station in Jerusalem March 17, 2015.
| (photo credit: SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/POOL VIA REUTERS) |
Later , another case, the Bezeq-Walla! affair ("Case 4000") emerged involving pensions, and the prime minister fell under suspicion after his former allies Shlomo Filber and Nir Hefetz, turned state's evidence and became witnesses against Netanyahu. In December 2018, after State Prosecutor Shai Itzan recommended that Netanyahu be indicted, Mandelblit announced that he would "work quickly" to decide whether to indict Netanyahu.
In February 2019, Mandelbilt announced that "after thoroughly examining the evidence" he had accepted police recommendations to indict Netanyahu on three of the charges presented, and that an indictment would be formally issued following a hearing.
On November 21, 2019, Mandelblit indicted Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust (in connection with Case 4000) and fraud and breach of public trust (in connection with Case 1000 and Case 2000). At the same time, Mandelblit indicted Yediot Ahronot owner Arnon Nuni Mozes on a bribery charge and Bezeq-Walla! owner Shaul Elovitch and his wife Iris on charges of bribery and obstruction of justice. Netanyahu thus became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be indicted. Mandelblit planned to ask the Knesset to waive Netanyahu's immunity from prosecution. The indictment increased pressure on Netanyahu to resign from office. He is sharing the Prime
Minister position with runner-up, Benjamin Gantz b: 1959, who is an Israeli soldier and politician serving as Alternate Prime Minister of Israel and Minister of Defense since 2020. He served as the 20th Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2011 to 2015 and the 17th Speaker of the Knesset from 26 March 2020 to 17 May 2020.
Update: The trial is scheduled to continue in 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Benjamin_Netanyahu#:~:text=On%2018%20February%202020%2C%20the,Court%20on%2017%20March%202020.&text=However%2C%20on%2015%20March%202020,result%20of%20coronavirus%2Drelated%20restrictions.
Update: The trial is scheduled to continue in 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Benjamin_Netanyahu#:~:text=On%2018%20February%202020%2C%20the,Court%20on%2017%20March%202020.&text=However%2C%20on%2015%20March%202020,result%20of%20coronavirus%2Drelated%20restrictions.
Resource:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/an-old-political-ally-a-new-threat-to-the-pm/
https://www.afr.com/world/the-strange-affair-of-james-packer-and-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-20171207-h00dnk
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/10/27/case-2000-tapes-reveal-pms-struggle-to-ensure-fair-media-coverage/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avichai_Mandelblit#:~:text=Avichai%20Mandelblit%20(Hebrew%3A%20%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%97%D7%99%20%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98,General%20between%202004%20and%202011.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/209438
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Israel#:~:text=The%20current%20prime%20minister%20is,they%20support%20for%20the%20position.
https://www.afr.com/world/the-strange-affair-of-james-packer-and-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-20171207-h00dnk
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/10/27/case-2000-tapes-reveal-pms-struggle-to-ensure-fair-media-coverage/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avichai_Mandelblit#:~:text=Avichai%20Mandelblit%20(Hebrew%3A%20%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%97%D7%99%20%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98,General%20between%202004%20and%202011.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/209438
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Israel#:~:text=The%20current%20prime%20minister%20is,they%20support%20for%20the%20position.
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