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Things not going well for Benjamin Netanyahu

Hugo Stiglitz

By Hugo Stiglitz
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hpslugga

hpslugga 4044

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He’s probably going to get nailed. This announcement came just days after the US formally announced it was reversing its position on the illegal settlements. Sounds like Bibi knew he was on the way out (for good this time) and wanted to guarantee his legacy as land thief number 1 among Israeli PM’s in addition to being arguably the most vile terrorist among same.

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bolverk

bolverk 29405

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Posted

Didn't feel like this belonged in the Israel thread, so did a search and found one to necro bump. The article very much has a "State of the US in 2020" vibe to it, especially the bolded parts.

 

Netanyahu Enters Plea of Not Guilty in Corruption Trial
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel returned to court with a general election just weeks away. The trial is viewed by many as a test of the nation’s judicial system.

JERUSALEM — Few world leaders have ever stood trial while in office, let alone while running for re-election in the middle of a pandemic.

Yet on Monday morning — with a general election just weeks away, and a fraught decision about reopening the education system due soon — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was forced to shift his attention away from matters of state and attend instead the resumption of his trial on corruption charges.

The hearing was largely administrative, and Mr. Netanyahu spoke only briefly to plead his innocence.

“I confirm the response that was filed in my name,” the prime minister said, referring to a written plea that his lawyers entered several weeks ago.

Mr. Netanyahu spent less than half an hour inside the courtroom before leaving his lawyers to argue with the three judges about procedural matters. But that was the first time that Mr. Netanyahu had spoken in the court itself since the trial started last May, and only the second time that he had attended in person.

And the simple spectacle of a sitting prime minister in the dock has kindled a debate about the health of Israel’s democracy and judicial system.

For some, the fact that an Israeli prime minister can be brought to trial in an Israeli court is strong evidence of judicial independence and equality before the law. But others fear that the discourse surrounding the trial — which Mr. Netanyahu has himself portrayed as a plot by unelected bureaucrats to undermine the will of the people — has undermined public trust in the judicial system.

On Monday, the chief prosecutor in the case, Liat Ben-Ari, arrived in court accompanied by a security detail, after threats to her safety.

“It’s a clash that we see elsewhere in the world between a certain kind of populism and a rules-based justice system,” said Ofer Zalzberg, an analyst based in Jerusalem for the Herbert C. Kelman Institute, a research group focused on conflict resolution.

The trial is taking place in a courtroom in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, but which Palestinians hope will be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Mr. Netanyahu faces multiple charges. In one case, he is accused of granting political favors to two businessmen in exchange for gifts worth several hundred thousand dollars, including cigars and Champagne. In other cases, he is accused of having sought favorable media coverage from major news outlets in exchange for regulatory changes that benefited their owners.

If convicted, Mr. Netanyahu could face several years in prison, but a verdict is not expected for several months, if not years. The trial has already been delayed several times by coronavirus restrictions — and it may yet be delayed again. The judges will decide this week whether to uphold a request made on Monday by Mr. Netanyahu’s lawyers to postpone the summoning of witnesses until after the March 23 election — Israel’s fourth in two years.

But either way, many analysts say they believe that the trial may not have a large impact on public opinion.

The election is widely considered an informal referendum on Mr. Netanyahu. But most voters formed their opinions on the allegations against the prime minister long ago, since the trial and the investigation that led to it have dragged on for years, said Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli political analyst and pollster.

“Could the opening of the trial really change anybody’s mind?” Dr. Scheindlin said. “So far, I don’t really see it.”

“None of this is new — people have had years to factor this in,” she added.

In fact, one reason Israel faces yet another election in such a short span of time is because the pools of voters who support and oppose Mr. Netanyahu have remained fairly equal in size in recent years. This has made it impossible for either Mr. Netanyahu or his political opponents to achieve a stable parliamentary majority, leading to election after election to break the deadlock.

“Most people have already decided what they feel about the trial,” said Nahum Barnea, a leading Israeli columnist. “Many of them believe he is either innocent — or even if he is not innocent, he is such a good prime minister that he should not be on trial. But at the same time, a large part of the public has a fixed idea that Netanyahu is a criminal.”

To his critics, the simple fact that Mr. Netanyahu opted not to resign from office, despite being distracted by complicated criminal proceedings, was already evidence of a dangerous selfishness.

Many government failings throughout the pandemic were “all because of the trial,” the Black Flags, an opposition movement that has led protests against Mr. Netanyahu, posted on Twitter on Monday morning. “His personal survival is more important to him than the survival of the state.”

But to Mr. Netanyahu’s supporters, the trial is proof of a deep conspiracy against him, and little that occurs during the hearings will change their mind.

“Today marks another stage in the attempted political assassination known as the Netanyahu cases,” Osnat Mark, a lawmaker from Mr. Netanyahu’s party, wrote on Twitter. “With incredible timing, the prosecution seeks to expedite the hearing of prosecution witnesses near the election as a political battering tool.”

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45499

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3 hours ago, bolverk said:

Didn't feel like this belonged in the Israel thread, so did a search and found one to necro bump. The article very much has a "State of the US in 2020" vibe to it, especially the bolded parts.

 

Netanyahu Enters Plea of Not Guilty in Corruption Trial
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel returned to court with a general election just weeks away. The trial is viewed by many as a test of the nation’s judicial system.

JERUSALEM — Few world leaders have ever stood trial while in office, let alone while running for re-election in the middle of a pandemic.

Yet on Monday morning — with a general election just weeks away, and a fraught decision about reopening the education system due soon — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was forced to shift his attention away from matters of state and attend instead the resumption of his trial on corruption charges.

The hearing was largely administrative, and Mr. Netanyahu spoke only briefly to plead his innocence.

“I confirm the response that was filed in my name,” the prime minister said, referring to a written plea that his lawyers entered several weeks ago.

Mr. Netanyahu spent less than half an hour inside the courtroom before leaving his lawyers to argue with the three judges about procedural matters. But that was the first time that Mr. Netanyahu had spoken in the court itself since the trial started last May, and only the second time that he had attended in person.

And the simple spectacle of a sitting prime minister in the dock has kindled a debate about the health of Israel’s democracy and judicial system.

For some, the fact that an Israeli prime minister can be brought to trial in an Israeli court is strong evidence of judicial independence and equality before the law. But others fear that the discourse surrounding the trial — which Mr. Netanyahu has himself portrayed as a plot by unelected bureaucrats to undermine the will of the people — has undermined public trust in the judicial system.

On Monday, the chief prosecutor in the case, Liat Ben-Ari, arrived in court accompanied by a security detail, after threats to her safety.

“It’s a clash that we see elsewhere in the world between a certain kind of populism and a rules-based justice system,” said Ofer Zalzberg, an analyst based in Jerusalem for the Herbert C. Kelman Institute, a research group focused on conflict resolution.

The trial is taking place in a courtroom in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, but which Palestinians hope will be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Mr. Netanyahu faces multiple charges. In one case, he is accused of granting political favors to two businessmen in exchange for gifts worth several hundred thousand dollars, including cigars and Champagne. In other cases, he is accused of having sought favorable media coverage from major news outlets in exchange for regulatory changes that benefited their owners.

If convicted, Mr. Netanyahu could face several years in prison, but a verdict is not expected for several months, if not years. The trial has already been delayed several times by coronavirus restrictions — and it may yet be delayed again. The judges will decide this week whether to uphold a request made on Monday by Mr. Netanyahu’s lawyers to postpone the summoning of witnesses until after the March 23 election — Israel’s fourth in two years.

But either way, many analysts say they believe that the trial may not have a large impact on public opinion.

The election is widely considered an informal referendum on Mr. Netanyahu. But most voters formed their opinions on the allegations against the prime minister long ago, since the trial and the investigation that led to it have dragged on for years, said Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli political analyst and pollster.

“Could the opening of the trial really change anybody’s mind?” Dr. Scheindlin said. “So far, I don’t really see it.”

“None of this is new — people have had years to factor this in,” she added.

In fact, one reason Israel faces yet another election in such a short span of time is because the pools of voters who support and oppose Mr. Netanyahu have remained fairly equal in size in recent years. This has made it impossible for either Mr. Netanyahu or his political opponents to achieve a stable parliamentary majority, leading to election after election to break the deadlock.

“Most people have already decided what they feel about the trial,” said Nahum Barnea, a leading Israeli columnist. “Many of them believe he is either innocent — or even if he is not innocent, he is such a good prime minister that he should not be on trial. But at the same time, a large part of the public has a fixed idea that Netanyahu is a criminal.”

To his critics, the simple fact that Mr. Netanyahu opted not to resign from office, despite being distracted by complicated criminal proceedings, was already evidence of a dangerous selfishness.

Many government failings throughout the pandemic were “all because of the trial,” the Black Flags, an opposition movement that has led protests against Mr. Netanyahu, posted on Twitter on Monday morning. “His personal survival is more important to him than the survival of the state.”

But to Mr. Netanyahu’s supporters, the trial is proof of a deep conspiracy against him, and little that occurs during the hearings will change their mind.

“Today marks another stage in the attempted political assassination known as the Netanyahu cases,” Osnat Mark, a lawmaker from Mr. Netanyahu’s party, wrote on Twitter. “With incredible timing, the prosecution seeks to expedite the hearing of prosecution witnesses near the election as a political battering tool.”

abfcb932-1ed6-498e-bfeb-1aa62ba8825c_tex

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Js1

Js1 85114

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Bama Chick said:

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
 

Oh he sucks politics wise. But he’s not a corrupt shit bag who kneels at the altar of Trump and thinks he’s the God-King of Israel.

From what I read, he is only the PM for 2 years and then Lapid (centrist party) is PM for 2 years.

Plus Bibi fucking hates Bennett, so….

Edited by Js1
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lmao

lmao 178

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Posted
22 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Israel is going the Iran route. Well, there will be more sad wars 

And who is going to pay for these wars? Cut them off ffs. Americans are tired of being complicit in this shit, we have too many problems at home.

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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13049

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Surprised no one is commenting regarding the trip to Israel over the Memorial Day weekend by former Secretary of State Pompeo, and Senators Cruz, Graham, and Hagerty. They met with Netanyahu, and Ted made sure to grab some video for his highlight reels of both the meeting and Israeli homes that were bombed. AFAIK, he had no plans to visit with Palestinians as he seems to consider them all Hamas. No word on if they met with any Mossad officials.

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hpslugga

hpslugga 4044

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On 6/4/2021 at 2:18 PM, Js1 said:

Here’s hoping!!

 

I was gonna say, I’m struggling to find a downside to this. And of course it’s bullshit anyways. The difference between the mainstream of Israel’s political far left and far right covers the length of a flea’s hop.

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13414

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Should be an interesting time for Israel. I believe the new PM may even be more right that Bibi but he is backed by an overall more centrist coalition govt and only has 2 years as PM. Of course, I assume he could pull his party from the coalition after his time as PM is up. Obviously this change was not about necessarily changing any Israel policy but the majority wanted Bibi gone. 

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Blotto

Blotto 23434

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Posted
45 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

oh wow you mean Evangelicals don't actually care about Israel/Jews and just want to use them as weapons against Muslims whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?!?
 

 

lulz at this dude having 77 million followers. Lets see him speak out  against the orange Jesus and see how many followers he has. 

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hpslugga

hpslugga 4044

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Posted
3 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Should be an interesting time for Israel. I believe the new PM may even be more right that Bibi but he is backed by an overall more centrist coalition govt and only has 2 years as PM. Of course, I assume he could pull his party from the coalition after his time as PM is up. Obviously this change was not about necessarily changing any Israel policy but the majority wanted Bibi gone. 

Right, it's about changing the face and not the substance just like when the GHWB admin wanted Saddam Hussein gone without fundamentally changing the government of Iraq.

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lmao

lmao 178

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Posted
On 6/1/2021 at 9:21 AM, Mrs Whiggins said:

Surprised no one is commenting regarding the trip to Israel over the Memorial Day weekend by former Secretary of State Pompeo, and Senators Cruz, Graham, and Hagerty. They met with Netanyahu, and Ted made sure to grab some video for his highlight reels of both the meeting and Israeli homes that were bombed. AFAIK, he had no plans to visit with Palestinians as he seems to consider them all Hamas. No word on if they met with any Mossad officials.

Israel First

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Js1

Js1 85114

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Posted

Bibi out

But god damn, this is familiar 

Quote
  • Shortly before the vote, Netanyahu was asked by reporters if he was committed to an orderly transfer of power and answered sarcastically: "No, there will be a revolution. What an idiotic question."

What's next: The formal ceremony to mark Bennett's entry into the prime minister's office will take place on Monday morning. The outgoing prime minister would traditionally attend, but Netanyahu has not said whether he'll do so.

  • Netanyahu has also promised to quickly bring down the government, which could be quite fragile given its narrow majority and deep ideological divisions.
  • Netanyahu, meanwhile, will be leading the opposition while facing a corruption trial

 

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