Race to the bottom
The sprint is on between police trying to get to the root of corruption allegations against Netanyahu, and the PM’s allies trying to legislate their way to being below scrutiny
Joshua Davidovich is The Times of Israel's Deputy Editor
Like a much less entertaining version of “Cannonball Run,” the race is on in the Hebrew press Thursday morning between police investigating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicions of graft and lawmakers attempting to protect him.
With reports over the past several days noting the breakneck (if not break-Knesset) speed of the so-called police recommendations bill, which would put a vise on the cops’ ability to recommend charges in some cases or make those recommendations public in others, team 5-oh seemed like it would be left in the dust.
But on Thursday, not only are police seen making a big move toward the checkered flag, but it also seems the Likud law-racers may have gotten a flat tire.
“The target: Finish the investigation before the recommendations law,” reads the main headline in Yedioth, while Haaretz’s top headline reports that “Packer testifies and the police will try to finish the investigation with a month,” referring to billionaire Aussie and Netanyahu buddy James Packer, whom the police had been seeking to interview for months regarding suspicions surroundings gifts he gave the prime minister.
Haaretz also does Packer the favor of publishing a picture of him looking dignified enough in a suit, while Yedioth publishes not one, but two pictures of him shirtless on his yacht and looking as shlubby as possible, which together with the fact that his name reads as “F*cker” in Hebrew, just combines into a big bowl of no.
The shirtless picture is somewhat relevant, though, with the paper reporting that police chased Packer from Australia to Argentina, to Mexico and even tried to catch him on his yacht before they eventually got him to sit down and talk about the prime minister.
“Now, given their success in getting his testimony, the police are planning on picking up the pace of the investigation to finish it within two weeks and give their testimony, before the recommendations bill becomes law.”
Haaretz quotes a police source giving the seemingly contradictory statement that “Packer’s testimony was critical to the investigation, but even without it the police had what they needed for an evidentiary basis in the case.”
Israel Hayom, which has pretty much the same info as the other papers and only sets itself apart by not placing the story front and center, reports that the prosecution had even made peace with the fact that it would have to do without Packer’s testimony. Tellingly, none of the papers explain how the police finally wrangled him off the yacht and into the hot seat.
The Netanyahu-backing tabloid also doesn’t set up the investigation and the legislation as a race, seemingly maintaining the Likud line that the law has nothing to do with Netanyahu (though it smushes the two things together in the same story).
Whereas the other papers report that the vote is now being delayed because Netanyahu and Welfare Minister Haim Katz (caught in a separate investigation) can’t vote on it because of a conflict of interest, Israel Hayom says it’s delayed because too many lawmakers will be in the US next week for the Saban Forum. As for the two not voting, the paper doesn’t say why, but does report that the Knesset legal adviser rejected a petition that they be forcibly recused, since the bill’s already not being voted on now. “So there’s no reason to make a determination on the complicated issue of whether there is or isn’t a conflict of interest for Netanyahu and Katz,” Israel Hayom quotes the legal adviser saying.
Yedioth isn’t fooled though, reporting straight up that Netanyahu is not allowed to vote on the measure based on the same legal decision, and using the fact as a cudgel against Kulanu party head Moshe Kahlon, who had excused his support for the measure by saying it was not tailored for Netanyahu.
“The Knesset legal adviser’s decision embarrasses Kahlon,” the paper writes. “Now, after the decision, it seems he can’t claim [it’s not personal] since even [the legal adviser] said that Netanyahu is forbidden to vote on the issue.”
Yet even while the paper excitedly plays up a “battle over every vote,” noting the four coalition MKs thinking of going rogue, it also reports that even with them jumping ship, the coalition would still win the vote 60-58.
Lost in all this is the fact that the law doesn’t actually stop the police from doing anything, and will at most shield the prime minister and attorney general from public pressure. But according to op-ed columnist Dan Margalit in Haaretz, Netanyahu is not exactly winning that race for hearts and minds either.
“The attempt to prevent a criminal investigation into Netanyahu, the proposal to charge journalists who publish leaks about the police’s efforts, the initiative to shrink the state comptroller’s role down to almost nothing – all these are seen by commentators and the man on the street as aggressive steps by an anti-democratic gang that’s trying to extend its rule and deter its enemies,” he writes.
If Netanyahu has had success anywhere, it’s on the diplomatic front, as his trip to Africa this week showed, and Israel Hayom’s lead story reports that he’s trying to patch things up in Jordan as well — where Israel’s embassy has been shuttered for months in the aftermath of a fatal shooting by an Israeli security guard who was under attack — by appointing a new ambassador.
Columnist Yoav Limor for the paper calls the possible sacking of envoy Einat Schlein a “small price to pay for restoring ties.”
“Rebuilding trust will indeed take time, but they need to start,” he writes. “In the chaotic Middle East, a disconnect between Jerusalem and Amman is a luxury neither country can afford.”
In Haaretz, though, the paper’s reporters note that a promised criminal investigation into the shooting is not moving and it’s that, and not a new ambassador, that’s really needed to get relations back on track.
“The Jordanians say that the solution to the crisis, above all, should involve an investigation into the security guard and prosecution,” the paper reports, citing an Israeli source. “Another Israeli source involved recently commented that this crisis concerns Jordanian national honor and the legitimacy of the Hashemite Kingdom, adding it can continue for years and cause significant damage to Israeli-Jordanian relations.”
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