Herzog tells PM to resign, it’s the ‘patriotic’ thing to do

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign, saying it was the “patriotic” thing to do as the ongoing corruption investigations were damaging to Israel.

“Don’t drag the entire country through months of shame, infighting and national embarrassment,” Herzog said, speaking at a cultural event in Neve Monosson on Saturday.

“You resignation at this point would be the patriotic and honorable thing, and I am convinced your party will select a worthy candidate for your replacement,” he said.

Netanyahu is mired in two corruption scandals and being investigated over suspicions he received improper gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy businessmen, and that he tied to cut a deal for favorable coverage with a prominent newspaper publisher.

As precedent, Herzog pointed to former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s resignation in 1977, after it emerged and Rabin and his wife Leah illegally held a US bank account.

At a separate cultural gatherings on Saturday, MKs from the opposition Yesh Atid Party — now surging in opinion polls — also weighed in on the police investigations into prime minister’s alleged corruption.

Party chairman Yair Lapid said the investigations were eroding the public’s trust in elected officials, and contributed to the wider belief among Israelis that all of their leaders were corrupt.

Lapid did not directly call for Netanyahu’s resignation, but indicated the prime minister would be forced to step down if indicted.

“You can’t manage Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the economy when when you’ve been served an indictment,” Lapid told participants at a Givat Shmuel event.

Another Yesh Atid lawmaker, Ofer Shelah, called for a swift conclusion of the criminal probes, and urged police to release in full the reportedly damning recordings between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes.

So far, there have been serial leaks from the Mozes investigation and the gifts probe. Shelah also said Netanyahu’s excuses over the gifts sounded improbable.

“I won’t judge based on the leaks, but if what is being reported is true, then the prime minister’s version of events in the ‘gifts from friends’ case contradicts all reasonable logic,” he said.

Netanyahu is being investigated in two separate cases. The first, known as “Case 1000,” is looking into claims that he and his family received luxury gifts worth hundreds of thousands of shekels from businessmen, among them Israeli movie producer Arnon Milchan.

A second probe, known as “Case 2000,” pertains to recordings of conversations between Netanyahu and Mozes, in which the pair allegedly negotiated an illicit quid pro quo deal that would have seen the prime minister pass legislation to hamper a rival daily in return for more favorable coverage from Mozes’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Police are also looking into the so-called submarine scandal, in which Netanyahu’s personal lawyer David Shimron allegedly swayed multi-billion shekel deals in favor of the German shipbuilder he represented in Israel. Channel 2 television reported Tuesday that former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon was questioned by police as part of their initial investigation.

Netanyahu, who has been questioned by police on three occasions, has denied any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly said that nothing will come of either criminal investigation.

During a stormy Knesset Q&A session on Wednesday, Netanyahu slammed the investigations as a “witch hunt” and accompanied by a “celebration of hypocrisy and self-righteousness.”

Again contending that he has done nothing wrong, Netanyahu said he would not step down should the allegations lead to further legal action.

In the wake of the stormy Knesset session, Herzog demanded Netanyahu resign and call new elections.

Addressing the prime minister directly, Herzog said the greatest gift Netanyahu could give the Israeli people would be “turn in your keys and resign,” as he “cannot make decisions with a level head” while under investigation.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.