Corrupt case: Netanyahu trial politically driven, legal experts say Analysts tell JNS the case has collapsed from an evidentiary point of view. David Isaac
https://www.jns.org/corrupt-case-netanyahu-trial-politically-driven-legal-experts-say/
Now in its fifth year, the cross-examination of Israel’s prime minister began this week with Benjamin Netanyahu taking the stand in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday.
While the trial continues, legal experts tell JNS the case has collapsed from an evidentiary point of view. Netanyahu had been right, they say, the case is politically driven, something more and more Israelis have begun to understand.
“Having followed the case closely from its initiation until now I have no doubt that Netanyahu’s claim from the outset that this is political persecution is correct,” Talia Einhorn, professor of law and a titular member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, told JNS.
Haim Shain, an attorney and legal lecturer at Shaare Mishpat College in Hod Hasharon, concurred, explaining to JNS that Israel’s political opposition realized it couldn’t win back the parliament so it focused on taking control through non-electoral means, namely the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office, the press and academia.
“What they failed to do in elections, they are doing through the judicial system, with the backing of academia and the media. For some time, we have understood that these are phony cases,” he said.
Netanyahu faces corruption charges in three separate cases—Cases 1000 and 2000 (the charge is “breach of trust” in both instances), and Case 4000 (bribery, fraud and breach of trust).
This week’s cross-examination began with Case 1000, led by prosecutor Yehonatan Tadmor. Each case has its own team of prosecutors. (Analysts say the trial will cost the state many millions in legal costs.) Yet despite the resources invested, the prosecution has conducted itself in a negligent and unprofessional manner, experts say.
For instance, in Case 1000, the prime minister is accused of taking valuables over the course of three years, mainly in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cigars and champagne from two wealthy businessmen, Australian James Packer and Israeli Arnon Milchan.
Although cigars and champagne are the items most associated with the Netanyahu trial in the mind of the public, Einhorn said that the charge is based entirely on the word of one witness, Hadas Klein. No evidence, or additional testimony supports her claim and no investigation was undertaken to corroborate it.
The queen of evidence
Explaining this failure, Einhorn said, “Unfortunately, in the Israeli legal system a confession is considered the queen of evidence. This has resulted in the enforcement authorities limiting themselves to doing everything within their power to coerce people to confess, or become state witnesses giving testimony against others, not necessarily even accomplices in the same crime.
“Even though, in principle, it is up to the prosecution to prove the person guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, in practice the prosecution does not feel compelled to make the necessary effort to find forensic evidence that will prove the person guilty,” she said.
What emerged from the trials is that the vast majority of the champagne and cigars, which Klein claimed had been sent to Netanyahu, were for many of Milchan’s and Packer’s guests. From Milchan’s testimony, Netanyahu only received such gifts on birthdays and holidays.
“Unfortunately, with respect to Case 1000, there is still a substantial part of the public that believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu received a regular supply line of valuable gifts from Arnon Milchan and James Packer,” Einhorn said.
It’s the prosecution’s amateurism that disturbs Shain the most. Both he and Einhorn agree that a key reason for the prosecution’s sloppiness is that the State Attorney’s Office did not believe Netanyahu would fight the charges.
“The State Attorney’s Office was certain that Netanyahu would obtain a legal opinion from his lawyer, who would tell him, ‘Don’t do it.’ And any normal person would have thrown his hands up, taken a plea bargain, and retired. Case closed,” Shain said. “And so they allowed themselves to be extraordinarily sloppy. They ended up with a big surprise.”
So far in Netanyahu’s cross-examination the prosecution has had little new to offer. “Bugs Bunny and a few cigars from years ago show that the lawsuit doesn’t have any real substance,” said Shain, referring to prosecutor Tadmor’s attempt to establish that Milchan gave Netanyahu gifts in the hope of future favors by harping on a Bugs Bunny doll Milchan had brought for Netanyahu’s son Yair in 1996.
According to Ynet’s report of the proceedings, Tadmor’s repeated goading over the toy was too much for the judges, one of whom stopped the hearing and said, “We can move on from Bugs Bunny.”
Another disgraceful aspect of the trial is the thuggish methods employed to coerce former Netanyahu confidantes to turn state witness, Shain said. “It’s unbelievable. Criminal offenses were apparently carried out against people just so they’d turn state witness and provide all kinds of evidence against Netanyahu.”
One state witness in Case 4000, former Netanyahu chief of staff Shlomo Filber, filed a lawsuit in February for sexual assault he claims he suffered by a prison guard as part of an effort to break him while in custody.
Case 4000 asserts that Netanyahu received 315 instances of favorable coverage on the Walla website in exchange for regulatory favors to Bezeq, a telecommunications company owned by Shaul Elovitch, who also owned Walla.
(In 2018, Elovitch also reported abuse by the authorities, saying he was threatened by investigators while in custody to “admit to something I have never done.”)
A ‘clear filter’ function
In Case 4000, the State Attorney’s Office was embarrassed when Elovitch’s attorney, Jack Chen, received an Excel sheet from the prosecution (legally obligated to share all information), showing the 315 times Netanyahu or his aides supposedly improperly interfered to obtain favorable coverage for the prime minister.
Chen noticed a “clear filter” function. When he clicked on it, tens of thousands of “filtered” incidents popped up showing Ilan Yeshua, Walla’s CEO, had contacted many other politicians promising them favorable coverage, particularly Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“The court has already expressed its opinion that there was no bribery in Case 4000. It even suggested to the State Attorney’s Office to amend the indictment. Of course, the State Attorney’s Office did not agree,” Shain said.
Einhorn said the trial “reflects very poorly on all enforcement authorities—the police investigators, the state attorney, the prosecution and the attorney general.”
Reform is desperately needed, she said. While she said many reforms are required, she offered two examples: 1) confessions should be outlawed, unless the accused also produces corroborating evidence; and 2) a suspect should be allowed the presence of a lawyer at an interrogation, a standard practice in other common law jurisdictions. “The presence of a lawyer would prevent abuses such as those that we have seen in Netanyahu’s case,” she said.
The outcome of the trial remains uncertain. The judges might fear the public reaction should they acquit Netanyahu. It would expose the prosecution as a fraud and reveal that millions had been wasted. While Shain doesn’t believe Netanyahu will be found guilty of bribery, he might be found guilty on lesser charges, such as “breach of trust—something on the margins about which no one will exactly understand the details.”
“Unfortunately, this is a political case and a power game, with the legal system protecting its own powers,” Einhorn said. “The judges are aware that if they acquit the prime minister, the people who took part in this fabrication should be indicted. Against a hostile media and very powerful enforcement authorities, the judges will have to be very courageous to acquit.”
Both agreed that if anything good emerges from this trial, it will be that most of the Israeli public has come to understand that the judicial system is in need of reform, even if the Israel’s left-wing mainstream press had done its best to present the prosecution in the best light.
“The Israeli public understands that changes need to be made in the judicial system,” Shain said. “There isn’t a citizen in the State of Israel who has confidence that he will not be incriminated, and that a case will not be opened against him. If it can be done to a prime minister, it can be done to any of us.”
JUST MISSED IT….WILL POST TOMORROW
In a message dated 6/8/2025 5:48:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time, alvarisaac@gmail.com writes:Might work D-
https://www.jns.org/corrupt-case-netanyahu-trial-politically-driven-legal-experts-say/
Corrupt case: Netanyahu trial politically driven, legal experts say
Analysts tell JNS the case has collapsed from an evidentiary point of view.
David Isaac
(June 6, 2025 / JNS)
Now in its fifth year, the cross-examination of Israel’s prime minister began this week with Benjamin Netanyahu taking the stand in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday.
While the trial continues, legal experts tell JNS the case has collapsed from an evidentiary point of view. Netanyahu had been right, they say, the case is politically driven, something more and more Israelis have begun to understand.
“Having followed the case closely from its initiation until now I have no doubt that Netanyahu’s claim from the outset that this is political persecution is correct,” Talia Einhorn, professor law and a titular member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, told JNS.
Haim Shain, an attorney and legal lecturer at Shaare Mishpat College in Hod Hasharon, concurred, explaining to JNS that Israel’s political opposition realized it couldn’t win back the parliament so it focused on taking control through non-electoral means, namely the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office, the press and academia.
“What they failed to do in elections, they are doing through the judicial system, with the backing of academia and the media. For some time, we have understood that these are phony cases,” he said.
Netanyahu faces corruption charges in three separate cases—Cases 1000 and 2000 (the charge is “breach of trust” in both instances), and Case 4000 (bribery, fraud and breach of trust).
This week’s cross-examination began with Case 1000, led by prosecutor Yehonatan Tadmor. Each case has its own team of prosecutors. (Analysts say the trial will cost the state many millions in legal costs.) Yet despite the resources invested, the prosecution has conducted itself in a negligent and unprofessional manner, experts say.
For instance, in Case 1000, the prime minister is accused of taking valuables over the course of three years, mainly in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cigars and champagne from two wealthy businessmen, Australian James Packer and Israeli Arnon Milchan.
Although cigars and champagne are the items most associated with the Netanyahu trial in the mind of the public, Einhorn said that the charge is based entirely on the word of one witness, Hadas Klein. No evidence, or additional testimony supports her claim and no investigation was undertaken to corroborate it.
The queen of evidence
Explaining this failure, Einhorn said, “Unfortunately, in the Israeli legal system a confession is considered the queen of evidence. This has resulted in the enforcement authorities limiting themselves to doing everything within their power to coerce people to confess, or become state witnesses giving testimony against others, not necessarily even accomplices in the same crime.
“Even though, in principle, it is up to the prosecution to prove the person guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, in practice the prosecution does not feel compelled to make the necessary effort to find forensic evidence that will prove the person guilty,” she said.
What emerged from the trials is that the vast majority of the champagne and cigars, which Klein claimed had been sent to Netanyahu, were for many of Milchan’s and Packer’s guests. From Milchan’s testimony, Netanyahu only received such gifts on birthdays and holidays.
“Unfortunately, with respect to Case 1000, there is still a substantial part of the public that believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu received a regular supply line of valuable gifts from Arnon Milchan and James Packer,” Einhorn said.
It’s the prosecution’s amateurism that disturbs Shain the most. Both he and Einhorn agree that a key reason for the prosecution’s sloppiness is that the State Attorney’s Office did not believe Netanyahu would fight the charges.
“The State Attorney’s Office was certain that Netanyahu would obtain a legal opinion from his lawyer, who would tell him, ‘Don’t do it.’ And any normal person would have thrown his hands up, taken a plea bargain, and retired. Case closed,” Shain said. “And so they allowed themselves to be extraordinarily sloppy. They ended up with a big surprise.”
So far in Netanyahu’s cross-examination the prosecution has had little new to offer. “Bugs Bunny and a few cigars from years ago show that the lawsuit doesn’t have any real substance,” said Shain, referring to prosecutor Tadmor’s attempt to establish that Milchan gave Netanyahu gifts in the hope of future favors by harping on a Bugs Bunny doll Milchan had brought for Netanyahu’s son Yair in 1996.
According to Ynet’s report of the proceedings, Tadmor’s repeated goading over the toy was too much for the judges, one of whom stopped the hearing and said, “We can move on from Bugs Bunny.”
Another disgraceful aspect of the trial is the thuggish methods employed to coerce former Netanyahu confidantes to turn state witness, Shain said. “It’s unbelievable. Criminal offenses were apparently carried out against people just so they’d turn state witness and provide all kinds of evidence against Netanyahu.”
One state witness in Case 4000, former Netanyahu chief of staff Shlomo Filber, filed a lawsuit in February for sexual assault he claims he suffered by a prison guard as part of an effort to break him while in custody.
Case 4000 asserts that Netanyahu received 315 instances of favorable coverage on the Walla website in exchange for regulatory favors to Bezeq, a telecommunications company owned by Shaul Elovitch, who also owned Walla.
(In 2018, Elovitch also reported abuse by the authorities, saying he was threatened by investigators while in custody to “admit to something I have never done.”)
A ‘clear filter’ function
In Case 4000, the State Attorney’s Office was embarrassed when Elovitch’s attorney, Jack Chen, received an Excel sheet from the prosecution (legally obligated to share all information), showing the 315 times Netanyahu or his aides supposedly improperly interfered to obtain favorable coverage for the prime minister.
Chen noticed a “clear filter” function. When he clicked on it, tens of thousands of “filtered” incidents popped up showing Ilan Yeshua, Walla’s CEO, had contacted many other politicians promising them favorable coverage, particularly Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“The court has already expressed its opinion that there was no bribery in Case 4000. It even suggested to the State Attorney’s Office to amend the indictment. Of course, the State Attorney’s Office did not agree,” Shain said.
Einhorn said the trial “reflects very poorly on all enforcement authorities—the police investigators, the state attorney, the prosecution and the attorney general.”
Reform is desperately needed, she said. While she said many reforms are required, she offered two examples: 1) confessions should be outlawed, unless the accused also produces corroborating evidence; and 2) a suspect should be allowed the presence of a lawyer at an interrogation, a standard practice in other common law jurisdictions. “The presence of a lawyer would prevent abuses such as those that we have seen in Netanyahu’s case,” she said.
The outcome of the trial remains uncertain. The judges might fear the public reaction should they acquit Netanyahu. It would expose the prosecution as a fraud and reveal that millions had been wasted. While Shain doesn’t believe Netanyahu will be found guilty of bribery, he might be found guilty on lesser charges, such as “breach of trust—something on the margins about which no one will exactly understand the details.”
“Unfortunately, this is a political case and a power game, with the legal system protecting its own powers,” Einhorn said. “The judges are aware that if they acquit the prime minister, the people who took part in this fabrication should be indicted. Against a hostile media and very powerful enforcement authorities, the judges will have to be very courageous to acquit.”
Both agreed that if anything good emerges from this trial, it will be that most of the Israeli public has come to understand that the judicial system is in need of reform, even if the Israel’s left-wing mainstream press had done its best to present the prosecution in the best light.
“The Israeli public understands that changes need to be made in the judicial system,” Shain said. “There isn’t a citizen in the State of Israel who has confidence that he will not be incriminated, and that a case will not be opened against him. If it can be done to a prime minister, it can be done to any of us.”
Comments are closed.
