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Netanyahu's Inner Circle Is Fleeing Like Rats on the Titanic
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/11/netanyahus-inner-circle-is-fleeing-like-rats-on-the-titanic/There are certain similarities between Israel’s political scandals and the never-ending drama of President Donald Trump’s administration, but also certain differences. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s entourage isn’t as lurid as Trump’s; it has no Anthony Scaramucci of its own, just an heir apparent with a fondness for poop emojis. And the drama in Jerusalem is more rapidly nearing completion than its competition in Washington.
Last Friday, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, Ari Harow, signed a state’s witness deal with prosecutors and the police. Harow has been one of Netanyahu’s closest advisors for years. This is the single most important development in the long-running corruption investigations surrounding the prime minister, which now also entangle his wife, eldest son, personal lawyer, and one of his cabinet ministers. And now his son also faces a libel suit.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu responded with a rally of his own, attended by 3,000 of his supporters and most of the party’s ministers. The prime minister attacked the “fake news media” for joining forces with his opponents on the left to launch “an obsessive and unprecedented witch hunt against me and my family.”
Netanyahu is being investigated in two separate cases. The first, dubbed Case 1000, involves allegations that the Netanyahus received expensive gifts — about $150,000 worth of cigars, champagne and jewelry — from two wealthy businessmen. The second, Case 2000, revolves around negotiations held between Netanyahu and his archenemy Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot. Police suspect that on the eve of the 2015 Knesset elections, Mozes proposed that Yediot Ahronot and its popular website would curtail criticism of the prime minister, and in return Netanyahu would help limit printing of its strongest competitor, the pro-Netanyahu, Sheldon Adelson-owned tabloid Israel Hayom.
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Last Friday, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, Ari Harow, signed a state’s witness deal with prosecutors and the police. Harow has been one of Netanyahu’s closest advisors for years. This is the single most important development in the long-running corruption investigations surrounding the prime minister, which now also entangle his wife, eldest son, personal lawyer, and one of his cabinet ministers. And now his son also faces a libel suit.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu responded with a rally of his own, attended by 3,000 of his supporters and most of the party’s ministers. The prime minister attacked the “fake news media” for joining forces with his opponents on the left to launch “an obsessive and unprecedented witch hunt against me and my family.”
Netanyahu is being investigated in two separate cases. The first, dubbed Case 1000, involves allegations that the Netanyahus received expensive gifts — about $150,000 worth of cigars, champagne and jewelry — from two wealthy businessmen. The second, Case 2000, revolves around negotiations held between Netanyahu and his archenemy Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot. Police suspect that on the eve of the 2015 Knesset elections, Mozes proposed that Yediot Ahronot and its popular website would curtail criticism of the prime minister, and in return Netanyahu would help limit printing of its strongest competitor, the pro-Netanyahu, Sheldon Adelson-owned tabloid Israel Hayom.
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