1. Prime defendant: The Israeli press has one thing on its mind Sunday morning, and it’s not the mercifully cooler weather. After years of investigations, leaks, smear campaigns, the end of democracy, drastically overblown hyperbole and more, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu becomes prime defendant Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon.
- That goes for both the Netanyahu-supporting press, like Israel Hayom, and those that are more critical of the prime minister.
- “The trial,” reads the top headline of Israel Hayom.
- “On the defendant’s bench,” says Yedioth Ahronoth, referring not to its publisher Arnon Mozes, who will also be standing trial, but — you guessed it — Netanyahu.
- “Many refused to believe that we would get to this sad moment, but this afternoon, it will indeed happen: For the first time in the nation’s history the serving prime minister will go to court to defend himself on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust,” writes the paper. “The hearing will be short, but the trial is expected to be long, exhausting and divisive.”
- Notably, a number of columns in the paper urge going into the trial with an open mind.
- “No pre-conviction and no pre-exoneration. No hate and no admiration,” writes Ben-Dror Yemini. “The evidence gathered against Netanyahu points to problematic behavior and corruption. This does not mean he is guilty. The other side has more than enough justifiable claims.”
- The Walla news site, whose owner Shaul Elovitch is also on trial, can’t help but play up the case given its historic proportions.
- The site reads into the fact that Netanyahu was not allowed to skip out on the hearing as a sign that “the judges are treating Netanyahu just like any other defendant.”
- Channel 12 news has the same takeaway, adding in that given “the decision to not allow the trial to be broadcast live, in order to allow witnesses to give testimony freely and without feeling pressure… the judges have sent a message that Netanyahu won’t have any extra rights when he’s sitting on the defendant’s bench.”
2. So how long will this thing take? A while apparently. Haaretz’s top headline previews what it says are the defense’s plans to “battle over every step,” atop a picture of the modest looking Jerusalem District Courtroom, forebodingly shaded in shadow, which may be ground zero for the case for years to come.
- The paper notes that the two-man defense team is still working on getting up to speed, and is meanwhile taking a more confrontational approach thanks to the addition of attorney Micha Fettman.
- “The defense team intends to file a large number of motions seeking disclosure of confidential material from the investigation against the prime minister,” the paper reports, quoting a source saying that “this time, there won’t be concessions.”
- Channel 13 news also throws cold water on anyone hoping for a speedy trial: “Justice officials estimate that preliminary arguments will take six months to a year, meaning it will be many months before we hear the opening statement of prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari and until witnesses take the stand.”
- Former deputy state prosecutor Yehoshua Reznik decries the expected glacial pace of the trial: “The judges should require two to three hearings a week. Otherwise this could take two years.”
3. Is justice blind to elections or something? Israel Hayom, a tabloid seen as a mouthpiece for Netanyahu (despite being on the losing end of an alleged quid pro quo deal with Yedioth’s publisher that is one of the cases being tried), runs a front page picture of Netanyahu, but the paper makes clear that it does not think it is the prime minister on trial, but rather the judges. READ MORE
