Israel crisis deepens over judiciary row: Benjamin Netanyahu’s many, many legal troubles

The crisis in Israel has deepened with mass protests erupting after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister. Netanyahu on Sunday sacked staunch ally Yoav Gallant, who’d called for a halt to the government’s controversial judicial reforms. Netanyahu, who is slated to address Israel, is likely to put the judicial overhaul on pause. Let’s take a look at Netanyahu’s many controversies during his time as a politician and how he has survived: Graft cases In 2019, Israel’s then attorney general recommended criminal charges against Netanyahu in a series of graft cases. Avichai Mandelblit’s recommendations of fraud, bribery and breach of trust charges concluded a two-year investigation into a range of corruption allegations against Netanyahu.

The investigations listed as cases 1000, 2000 and 4000.

Case 1000 centred on allegations that Netanyahu and his wife Sara wrongfully received gifts from Arnon Milchan, a prominent Hollywood producer and Israeli citizen, and Australian billionaire businessman James Packer. Those gifts allegedly included champagne and cigars. He has been charged with fraud and breach of trust. Case 2000 alleged that Netanyahu negotiated a deal with the owner of Israel’s best-selling dail newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, for better coverage. In return, prosecutors say, he offered legislation that would slow the growth of a rival daily newspaper. In this case Netanyahu was charged with fraud and breach of trust. Case 4000 claimed that Netanyahu granted regulatory favours to Israel’s leading telecommunications company, Bezeq Telecom Israel BEZQ.TA, in return for positive coverage of him and his wife on a news website controlled by the company’s former chairman. Netanyahu, who was charged with bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust, remains on trial in these cases. He has assailed the investigations as a conspiratorial witch hunt, vehemently denying any wrongdoing. He has derided the allegations as a ‘political coup’ by the police, the prosecution, the media and the Left. While Netanyahu’s hard-right government has claimed the changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary, some say this is a ploy to protect the prime minister from the judiciary. The plan to hand more control to politicians and diminish the role of the Supreme Court has ignited months of protests and sparked concern from Israel’s top allies including the United States. Sara’s pricey habits Sara Netanyahu has long been the target, alongside her husband, of corruption and mismanagement allegations. Sara was in 2019 convicted of fraudulently using state funds for meals. She was also fined 10,000 shekels ($2,800) and ordered to reimburse the state a further 45,000 shekels. Netanyahu, at the time gearing up for polls after failing to form a coalition following April general elections, took to Facebook to defend his wife. He denied that Sara was involved in Israeli public affairs, describing her as a “real heroine” who was “a punching bag for the media”. “Anyone who is not appointed to a position, or anyone who is dismissed from a position, knows what to do: Attack Sara,” he wrote. “The facts and the truth do not matter at all. Sara has long been a punchbag for the media,” Netanyahu said. He detailed her work with “children with cancer, bereaved families…Holocaust survivors, and many other people in need”.

“My beloved wife, you are a real heroine,” concluded Netanyahu.

Sara was in June 2018 charged with fraud and breach of trust for paying $100,000 (85,000 euros) for meals from well-known Jerusalem businesses. She had done so while falsely declaring there was no cook available at the PM’s official residence. Allegations also mounted against the Netanyahus for using government money to purchase furniture for their private beach house and to cover the medical expenses of Sara’s late father. The attorney general ultimately dismissed those allegations. Yair’s joyride In 2018, a recording surfaced showing Netanyahu’s eldest son Yair joyriding with his super-rich buddies to Tel Aviv strip clubs in a drunken night out in a taxpayer-funded government vehicle. As per The Times of Israel, Netanyahu in 2018 said Yair made the remarks “under the influence of alcohol and has since apologised for them.” “My son was correct in saying yesterday that he had spoken foolish words,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. “He said, it’s not me, Yair. He said that these are not the values that characterize him. And he’s right.” The 27-year-old previously sparked controversy for lewd and offensive social media posts over the years, such as his publishing a caricature that drew on classic anti-Semitic tropes. Facebook previously suspended Yair’s account after he wrote he would prefer an Israel without any Muslims. Hey, big spender In 2016, an official expense report revealed that Netanyahu spent more than $600,000 of public funds on a six-day trip to New York, including $1,600 on a personal hairdresser. In 2013, the premier was chided for spending $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a flight to London.

Netanyahu’s spokesman at the time declined comment.

He also was forced to stop purchasing ice cream from an artisanal Jerusalem parlour after news erupted that his office ran up a $2,700 bill for his favourite flavours, vanilla and pistachio. Netanyahu claimed he was unaware of the cost and halted the practice. Sara accused of abusive conduct Sara Netanyahu’s household help has consistently accused her of explosive tirades and mistreatment. Two household aides have won damages in lawsuits accusing Sara of abusive conduct. [caption id=“attachment_12235202” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sara Netanyahu has long been a divisive figure in Israel, and the salon siege reflected the country’s emotionally charged divide over the overhaul. AP[/caption] In 2018, a recorded phone conversation surfaced of Sara screaming at her publicist about how a gossip column omitted mention of her educational credentials. In 2016, a Jerusalem court awarded one domestic worker over $42,000 in damages. Flying high Netanyahu was suspected of double billing travel expenses and using state funds to cover personal travel in the 2000s, while he was finance minister and Opposition leader. After a drawn-out investigation, the attorney general dismissed the case. Nanny accuses Sara of abuse In 1996, during Netanyahu’s first stint as prime minister, the family’s nanny said she was fired by Netanyahu’s wife for burning a pot of vegetable soup. The young woman said she was thrown out of the family’s home without her clothes or passport, and later was ordered to pick up her belongings dumped outside the front gate. Netanyahu’s office said the woman was fired because she was prone to violent outbursts. Influence peddling During his first term in office in the 1990s, Netanyahu was suspected of appointing a crony as attorney general in exchange for political support from the ultra-religious Shas party.

Prosecutors called Netanyahu’s conduct “puzzling".

However, they ultimately closed the case citing a lack of evidence. Lining pockets During that same spell in office, Netanyahu and his wife Sara were suspected of pocketing gifts and foreign contributions received from world leaders — items considered state property. The Netanyahus also were suspected of accepting favours from a contractor. Both cases were closed without charges. ‘Bibi gate’ In 1993, Netanyahu was one of Israel’s most popular politicians when the affair known as ‘Bibi gate’ hit the headlines. Netanyahu, who by then had married his third wife Sara Ben-Artz in 1991, was accused of having an affair with his image consultant Ruth Bar – herself a married woman. Worse, rumours of a videotape showing Netanyahu and Bar in “compromising romantic situations” began being circulated. Netanyahu’s response was classic Bibi – going on television and confessing the entire affair. Netanyahu further claimed a political rival had made the secret recording and threatened him with the release of the tape – unless he quit the political race for the leadership of the Likud party. Having blunted the threat, Netanyahu proceeded to win the race and reconciled with his wife. The rest, as they say, is history. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.