The corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which began in May 2020, is set to continue for another five years, despite the apparent collapse of the prosecution’s case against him.
The Times of Israel reported Tuesday: “Netanyahu’s trial began three years ago, and according to the current schedule is slated to last for another five years, although various reports have said that the extensive witness list could be trimmed, potentially shortening the trial by a couple of years.”
His main political rival, opposition leader Yair Lapid, was called to testify against Netanyahu Tuesday in yet another bizarre turn in a strange case.
Netanyahu is accused of taking champagne and cigars from a rich Hollywood friend who wanted a tax break extended; Netanyahu lobbied for the change, which was also supported by his rivals, but he was in the political opposition at the time, and the change was never made.
He is also accused of entertaining an offer from the head of a newspaper to improve his media coverage in exchange for supporting a new lack cracking down on rival, free newspapers; Netanyahu never supported the law and never received better coverage in the paper.
A third charge alleges that he promised regulatory changes to benefit Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecommunications company, again in exchange for more favorable media coverage at a website Bezeq owns. But Netanyahu did not play any role in the regulatory changes, and again he did not receive more favorable media coverage.
The prosecution has been rocked throughout the trial by revelations of improper eavesdropping by police on witnesses, and by changes in witness testimony that have undermined the central allegations in the case.
Critics argue that Netanyahu’s political rivals conspired with opponents embedded within law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to force him out of office, and then out of politics.
While he was ousted by a group of opposition parties in 2021, he returned to office after dominating the November 2022 elections — and was elected with a mandate to enact judicial reforms, a simmering issue that his prosecution brought to the fore.
Some observers have noted the parallels between the seemingly endless prosecution of Netanyahu for minor charges, and the never-ending effort of Democrats and law enforcement agencies to prosecute Donald Trump.
Trump faces indictment and arrest in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday in connection with charges that he mishandled classified documents — charges never brought against his rivals for allegedly similar conduct.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.