Israeli police stated there is “sufficient evidence,” to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on criminal charges for two corruption cases, having found evidence of him “accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust.” The two cases are known as Case 1000 and Case 2000. In Case 1000, he is suspect of having received gifts from businessmen overseas totaling in approximately $280,000 from 2007 through 2018, focusing primarily on Netanyahu’s relationship with Arnon Milchan, Israeli billionaire and Hollywood producer. In Case 2000, police say Netanyahu discussed “bartering” with Arnon “Noni” Mozes, owner of one of Israel’s leading newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth, for more favorable coverage. Police will pass the evidence to the attorney general who will decide on whether or not to indict Netanyahu. By Israeli law, he is only required to step down if he is convicted, which could take years; however, he could face public pressure to step down earlier. The US considers the police statements to be an internal Israeli matter.
Discussion Questions
- Do you believe the US should be more concerned about this issue? Why or why not?
- Do you think Netanyahu should step down without having to wait for the attorney general’s decision? Why or why not?
- How do you think this will affect negotiations between Palestine and Israel?
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ReplyDeleteWhile the US has considered the police statements to be an internal Israeli matter, US involvement with this issue will mainly be dependent on the outcome. Minister Netanyahu, if serving until September, will become the longest standing PM for Israel. Hence if he is proven innocent, the US will not intervene, as Trump has established tighter relations with Israel. (Trump’s proclamation of Jerusalem as “Israel’s capital” is internationally known.) Yet, anti- Netanyahu groups assert a dominant role as well. If Netanyahu ends up guilty, congress will definitely seek leaders that are in the US’s favor, particularly the POTUS’s favor. This is reasonable though, as the US- Israeli relationship helps maintain US dominance in the Middle East- whether that be positively negatively. Regarding Netanyahu resigning from this case, this is most likely not going to happen. Personally I do not think that there is not a need for Netanyahu to consider this, as it will lead to severe implications: 1) it means that Netanyahu is guilty and 2) it will essentially end his career as a foreign officer. Netanyahu resigning without sufficient evidence and a ruling from court is unjustified- with emphasis on the saying “innocent until proven guilty,” especially with Netanyahu insisting on his innocence. Overall, “corrupted” leaders have always been an issue, and it is mainly an internal conflict. On that basis, it is essential for Israel to ensure its stability and functions as a country of the international community and not be wavered by issues such as these.
ReplyDeleteI do think the US should be concerned about the issue, considering its alliance with Israel. It is important for allied countries to be aware of everything going on politically. I also think that Netanyahu should step down early, regardless of the attorney general's decision. Israel is dealing with a somewhat corrupt government, and in order to rid the country of this corrupt government, it must take action. If there is "sufficient evidence" suggesting that Netanyahu has accepted bribes, it would be beneficial for the Israeli government if he stepped down. If he does not step down, negotiations between Palestine and Israel would be even more difficult to establish. The corruptness of Israel's government would likely make Palestine trust Israelis even less.
ReplyDeleteI think that the US should help and should be concerned about the issue of a very powerful person being caught. He is or was the Prime Minister of Israel and as the US and Israel have one of the best foreign aids. The US should still get a corrupted prime minister up and he should be straightened looked at or at least looked upon as we don't want a corrupted leader doing business with the US. Yet we should not look over how corrupted the true country is as they might be trying to pull off a scheme. Also the police who claim to have enough evidence has probably been watching him and have more than enough information. Lastly a summary of this article would be that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be kept pursued on by officials. Since he is being looked at for economical reasons the US should slow down the trade with each other.
ReplyDeleteI think that the US should take more responsibility and be more concerned about this issue because, as Valerie mentioned, they are allies with Israel. Being an ally with another country means that there should be a mutual agreement to help one another when faced with an issue or conflict. I think that the US shouldn't disregard this issue as an "internal Israeli matter" because they need to make sure that Israel will not have a fallen government as well as being seen poorly to other countries, like Palestine, because of their corrupted leader. An article on huffington post (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/netanyahu-indicted-charges_us_5a7bc7a0e4b044b382192b57) claims that Netanyahua did deny the charges placed on him. He said “I’m sure that at the end of the day the qualified legal factors will come to one conclusion, the simple truth: There is nothing.” Even though he denied the charges, this claim cannot be seen as valid because that's what any guilty person would say just to get out of the consequence and there has been sufficient evidence found. So, I think that he should step down right away in order to avoid unnecessary drama and because it is for the benefit of the Israelis. I think it is also important for him to step down because of the change in public view about Israeli's government that could happen. People could start distrusting the government more and it is a possibility that there will be riots and protests. Going back to how the Palestinians will view this conflict, I think that this issue will create more tension and distrust between them; peace and unity will be harder to enforce.
ReplyDeleteEvery Israeli prime minister since 1996 has been the subject of a corruption investigation. Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak have all been investigated for corruption. And so far the leaders have all been able to not have to face any of the consequences. But I think if the allegation against Netanyahu are true he should face the consequences and eventually have to step down from his position. The US should be involved in this as they have been supporting Israel for a long time. And if Netanyahu is guilty there could be political instabilities which would affect the relationship with the US. And also this could affect the Palestinians as they wold only build up mistrust and this would only makes peace agreements harder.
ReplyDeleteThe allegations against Netanyahu are important, and if they have merit, the US should definitely be concerned. Our country should want to have an alliance with countries whose leaders have integrity and are not criminals. Also, since we've been allies with Israel for years, if the rest of the world views Israel's government as corrupt, the same perspective could be reflected onto the US. To avoid further conflict and maintain a good image of the Israeli people, Netanyahu should step down without the attorney general's opinion. In addition, the integrity of the attorney general is unknown, and it is a very real possibility that he is corrupt or influenceable. This will most likely increase tensions with the negotiations between Palestine and Israel, as Palestine won't know if they can trust if Israel will hold up their part of any agreement. However, if a new, reputable Prime Minister is elected, then there is a chance that Palestine will look at this incident as an isolated one, and move on.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Netanyahu should have to step down before the attorney general makes their decision. One is innocent until proven guilty and I believe that we have to let the justice system work it's way and continue its course. If Netanyahu is forced to step down, it would be ignored the justice system and I think this would further encourage and spread the idea that the justice system should not be valued. Although in this case it does seem that Netanyahu is guilty and maybe should step down, by doing this others will think its acceptable to ignore the justice system as well and do as they see fit. This would turn into a reckless society if nobody followed the reforms that tried to set society at an equilibrium. So although it seems reasonable for Netanyahu to step down, I believe in doing so it would stray the power the justice system has established for itself and therefore result in a borderless country.
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ReplyDeleteMiddle Eastern culture is different than Americans' but when money talks the outcome is commonly the same. The creation of lobbyist are a legal way of taking bribes. I feel that this is an issue that is know about, and just ignored. The U.S. probably didn't react strongly to the news because they already knew about it, and might have been apart of it. Netanyahu is one of the few individuals who get called out for the actions. His dishonesty should cause him to step down, if he isn't a reliable figure then he shouldn't have a place in office. This might affect negotiations with Palestine because of the lack of integrity. I assume Palestine will use it as a way to make Israel look incapable.
ReplyDelete2) I think that if the allegations of Netanyahu are true he should back down from his position as Prime Minister due to the fact that he has committed an illegal crime and will have a very bad reputation with his country and will be a bad leader to represent his country. However, that most likely won't happen because if he doesn't get charged with anything then I would assume that he will continue to be the role of the Prime Minister. My reason being is that he and his party will want him to continue being an authority and would wait for the societies anger to die down. It may seem unfair but that is politics.
ReplyDeleteNetanyahu committed an illegal crime which affects his credibility as a leader. I think he should step down. Apparently there is a lot of evidence so the attorney could definitely expose him fully. Until he is exposed and guilty, he should continue being a Prime Minister. Morally, it is wrong. It may lead citizens to think that these illegal crimes can get away easily (assuming Netanyahu doesn't get charged).
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