Judge raps Netanyahu for requesting hearing delay: ‘Leave the house earlier’

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu is reprimanded by a judge and his request to delay the time of a hearing in his case against fellow former prime minister Ehud Olmert is rejected.

In May, Netanyahu filed a defamation lawsuit against Olmert after Olmert called the Netanyahu family “mentally ill.”

Today, Netanyahu requested that the first hearing in the case be pushed off from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in order to account for delays due to security.

The judge rejects the request, noting that the time and date were set back in late October, but Netanyahu waited until a day in advance to request a delay: “The way to avoid delays from security arrangements is, of course, to leave the house earlier.”

The judge notes that any parties to the case who do not appear in court at the appointed hour will be considered to be violating his order setting the hearing date for tomorrow.