The circus in the American capital tends to take my eye off of international developments, but this one is a doozy and shouldn’t be missed: Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, under investigation for corruption, may now be facing indictments on bribery and corruption charges. AL Monitor‘s Ben Caspit has the report:
The police described Netanyahu’s relationship with billionaire Arnon Milchan as “based on bribery.” They determined that on more than one occasion, Netanyahu acted counter to the country’s interests to receive benefits valued at around $280,000. The police similarly described his relationship with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes as one of “give and take,” or in other words, bribery in every sense of the word. In the case of Netanyahu’s relationship with Australian billionaire James Packer, the police recommended that he “only” be indicted for fraud and breach of trust.
The recommendations by the police on Feb. 13 kicked off a political earthquake, rocking Israel’s political and legal systems. Netanyahu has yet to be deposed. The last word must come from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. Nevertheless, Netanyahu has become a lame duck. Going forward, the slightest injury could end Netanyahu’s political career. Olmert found himself in the same situation right after the Second Lebanon War, in 2006. Right now, the keys to Netanyahu’s political survival lie with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Everything will come to an end once the finance minister decides that holding on to them is more painful than the thought of cutting his successful tenure short over the Netanyahu investigations. It might never happen, but it could also come about much quicker than Netanyahu imagines.
And Ben says there’s more shit flying Netanyahu’s way. I’m going to assume he’ll be out of power soon, no matter how hard he dances.
There’s little point in trying to find lessons between Trump and Netanyahu. The Israeli politician has had more than 12 years of power and has been exceedingly devious, even as he considered Trump to be his ally – until Trump’s random moves left Netanyahu flat footed. Trump is little more than an amateur, with a gift for campaigning, and even that gift may be overwhelmed by his continuing gaffes in the governance department.
The real question is where Israel will go once Netanyahu is gone. Will they continue their rightward slide into something not really resembling a democracy any longer? It’d be lovely to think that the shock of the corruption would make the Israeli citizen reconsider their judgment, but quite honestly it’s easier – and even more sensible – to blame the man, not the ideology.
Therefore, I’m not really expecting any substantive changes in Israeli policy because I expect another Likud victory in the next elections, and simply another face at the helm. Perhaps a more honest politician will take over, but I’m not sure that’ll really help matters all that much.
