Israel first

The Likud has long claimed that former prime minister Ehud Olmert, for example, was part of the Left. In that case, how is it possible that he was investigated by police?

By JPOST EDITORIAL
'Netanyahu is pure as snow,' a banner held by a Likud supporter at an emergency rally says (photo credit: AVRAHAM SASSONI)
'Netanyahu is pure as snow,' a banner held by a Likud supporter at an emergency rally says
(photo credit: AVRAHAM SASSONI)
Benjamin Netanyahu has every right to defend himself – and he should. Israel is a democracy. And in our justice system, suspects in crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Netanyahu is no different. After Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision on Thursday to charge him with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, he will get his day in court and will be able to argue and make every effort to prove his innocence.
But until then, there is a country that needs to be run and a nation that has to come first. On Thursday night, in response to the indictment, Netanyahu went on live TV and basically called for a civil revolt against the state’s justice system – the police, the prosecution and the courts.
“Investigate the investigators,” he said in his 17-minute speech, afterwards creating a hashtag from the phrase and circulating images of it on his different social media channels. It is perfectly normal to criticize a judicial system that has just decided to charge you with a slew of alleged crimes. It is another thing, as the elected leader of this country, to completely undermine it.
This is a dangerous situation, one that could have devastating consequences for the State of Israel. If Netanyahu gets his way, protesters will take to the streets and demonstrate against his indictment. He likely wants this to try and deter the prosecution, Mandelblit, the courts and his political adversaries from what might happen here if his case moves ahead.
Netanyahu’s close associate, Communications Minister David Amsalem, told Channel 12’s Meet the Press program on Saturday night that the police “act like a criminal organization.”
This is wrong. Netanyahu is not the first prime minister to be investigated and not the first one to be indicted (although he is the first to be charged while in office). The claim that the prosecution is run by the Left and has set up Netanyahu – as he claimed on Thursday – is outrageous.
The Likud has long claimed that former prime minister Ehud Olmert, for example, was part of the Left. In that case, how is it possible that he was investigated by police (on numerous cases), indicted, convicted and ultimately sentenced to jail time? According to the Likud’s thinking, the Left should protect the Left, no?
In the end, it will be up to the Likud to determine what happens next. MK Gideon Sa’ar has already challenged Netanyahu by calling for immediate leadership primaries to decide who will lead the party. He is asking to hold the vote within the next two weeks so that, if someone else is elected, that Likud member will still be able to try and stop Israel from heading to a third election at the end of the 21-day period on December 11.
But even if that fails and Likud refuses to hold primaries, the party’s leadership – including Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan – needs to speak up and prevent the outbreak of anarchy. They need to make their voices heard and make it clear that they will not allow the country to be ripped apart from within, even though their party’s chairman is facing the greatest challenge to his political career and to his continued freedom.
Their responsibility is not to Netanyahu but to Israel. When taking office, they pledged allegiance to the country and the Israeli flag, and it is to them that they have an obligation. Erdan, for example, should make his voice heard and defend the police, which he oversees and whose investigators are under attack – just verbally, for now – for doing their job and investigating allegations of corruption by the country’s longest-serving prime minister.
Edelstein has a reputation as being a dignified statesman and standing up for what is just and right. He needs to make his voice heard now to prevent the country from descending into chaos, no matter how unfair he and his fellow party members might view the indictment of their leader.
No matter what happens to Netanyahu – and whether he stays in office and fights for his innocence or resigns to do so – Israel has to come first.