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Saturday, July 8, 2023

Bribery Charges Against Three-Time Prime Minister Netanyahu

 Nadene Goldfoot                                        

     In October 1998 we see  Netanyahu with President Bill Clinton, Arafat and King Hussein of Jordan during the Middle East Peace signing.  Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed an interim accord  that committed them afresh to exchange land and power for concrete steps to secure Israel from political violence. They agreed to commence in earnest next month the final stage of talks to resolve their national dispute. Netanyahu is exceptional, speaking English and debating the best and showing them up in defense of Israel.   

The accord cemented Netanyahu's commitment to territorial compromise with the Palestinians, a concept to which he led opposition in Israel until his election in 1996. On Arafat's part, it marked a new willingness to subject Palestinians to close verification of painful promises they have made before and failed to keep.

Israel's neighbor is pretty special. Hussein was the namesake of his paternal great-grandfather, Hussein bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca), the leader of the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire

 Hussein bin Talal (Arabicالحسين بن طلال 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was a 40th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad.  They've gone through Black September when they fought against the Palestinians.  His son is today's king Abdullah II of Jordan and married a Palestinian.  The dynasty started with Abdullah, the grandfather.  However, they've been enemies, attacking Israel, and the result is that Hussein doesn't care for Netanyahu.  He probably wouldn't like any Israeli leader.                                                                                                                   

He had been called "the King of Israel" and "the great survivor": for a generation, Benjamin Netanyahu, or "Bibi," as he is popularly known, dominated Israeli politics. He's been elected PM 3 different times.   He's being attacked by his own court.  

Known for his combative style, the country's longest-serving leader played a key role in its drift to a more right-wing, nationalist outlook, pretty much ignoring Israel's religious history:  going more for the "here-this minute, how are we benefiting" outcomes... 

"Despite being further away from than ever from solving the conflict, [Mr Netanyahu] has just had four diplomatic agreements with Arab states, Israel has got better relations with the world and, prior to Covid, there was a decade of uninterrupted economic growth."

Benjamin Netanyahu's life is still controlled  by bribery charges meaning he is to have a court trial and possibly be found to be guilty.  Attorney General Gali Baharav Miyara and the state prosecution have stood fast against three judges’ advice for a plea deal in the 4000 file bribery charges against prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. After the prosecution wound up its case, the district judges on the bench called defense and prosecuting council to tell them: “The good of the country calls for a plea accord.”

The AG has reluctantly summoned the prosecutors to a conference next month to reconsider the case for a plea bargain in view of the judges’ opinion. But they remain convinced that evidence for a conviction awaits when the defense witnesses take the stand.

The most damning charge of taking bribes is represented in the 4000 File. The judges are not satisfied with the prosecution case brought against the prime minister for allegedly granting regulatory benefits to Shaul Elovitch, of Bezeq telecommunications, in return for favorable coverage in one of his publications.

Shaul Elovitch (Hebrewשאול אלוביץ'; born 1948) is an Israeli businessman and the owner of Eurocom Group, one of the largest private holding groups in Israel. He was born in 1948 in Poland and made aliyah to Israel when he was two years old. In December 2020, Elovitch, his son and former Bezeq director Or Elovitch; former secretary Linor Yochelman, the former CEO of Yes, Bezeq’s satellite TV subsidiary, Ron Eilon and former Yes CFO Mickey Naiman were indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust, receiving illicit gifts and violations of the Securities Law. A substantial portion of the charges also concerned Bezeq subsidy Walla's favoritism towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  During Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial, a text message Elovitch sent to former Walla! CEO Ilan Yeshua in February 2015 was revealed where Shaul stated that he was having problems all day with Netanyahu, who he identified as “the big one.” Elovitch's wife Iris has been has also been charged with bribery.
In another of the charges against him, the prime minister freely admits receiving lavish gifts from well-heeled friends, while the prosecutors have yet to prove an illicit quid pro quo.

In 2019, Netanyahu was indicted in several charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud. The case has dragged on since then. Those charges sparked three destabilizing national elections and mass demonstrations for the purpose of proving Netanyahu criminally corrupt and unfit to hold office. He was finally returned to power by election six months ago. 


Opposition leader Yair Lapid continues to declare him corrupt, unfit for office and heading for jail.


Was Yair leading the attack so that he could take over the Prime Minister position?  He then served as PM.  He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Israel from 1 July to 29 December 2022. He previously served as the Alternate Prime Minister of Israel and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2021 to 2022. Lapid is the chairman of the centrist Yesh Atid party, and Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2014.

Netanyahu consistently denies he is guilty of any wrongdoing and accuses the prosecution and his enemies of a conducting a witch hunt to bar him from holding office. If the prosecution persists in its objection to a plea or mediation deal, the Netanyahu trial could drag on for many more years. But if it is cut short by a deal, Netanyahu’s backers will certainly claim compensation for the financial, political and personal damage he has sustained..

        Alan Dershowitz, the expert on USA Law;  history, constitution, lives in Miami Beach, Florida

  US defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who has been vocally supportive of Benjamin Netanyahu against public corruption charges and remained close to the presumed incoming prime minister over the years, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Netanyahu should back off from a plan to override the Supreme Court.  The interview is one of a series in a clear public campaign by Dershowitz to convince Netanyahu how to handle the issue.  Although many different versions of what the plan might be have been floated in the media, the common denominator would be somehow reordering the country’s separation of powers to favor the Knesset over the Supreme Court much more than the way the law stands today.


Hasn't this been the plan that Netanyahu has since tried to carry out in the restructuring of the Supreme Court that has caused half the country to demonstrate against?  Dershowitz is always right on in identifying problematic situations.  


 JERUSALEM, March 27 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced increasing pressure on Monday to put the brakes on his government's drive to enact sweeping changes to the Israeli judiciary, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets.

The courts overhaul plan has sparked unprecedented public anger since Netanyahu's coalition of hard-right and religious parties came to power late last year, and has also caused alarm among Israel's Western allies.

Resource:

https://www.debka.com/prosecution-resist-judges-advice-for-a-deal-in-the-netanyahu-bribery-case

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/10/24/netanyahu-arafat-sign-accord/8efa3356-0e4e-4f17-b660-8f76c76cbb24/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yair_Lapid#:~:text=He%20served%20as%20the%2014th,Finance%20from%202013%20to%202014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaul_Elovitch

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-724427

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uproar-over-israeli-judicial-changes-whats-it-all-about-2023-03-27/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57306615

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_II_of_Jordan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_of_Jordan



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