 "Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, arrived on Wednesday at the court where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for corruption. Reuters")
US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made an unusual appearance at the corruption trial of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, breaking away from conventional protocol. The move was seen as the latest sign of the US President Donald Trump administration’s outright support for the Israeli premier in the long-running case.
The Israeli prosecutors indicted Netanyahu for bribery , fraud and breach of trust. The legal challenges came while Israel waged war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, which has been raging since the Hamas-led surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
It is unusual for ambassadors to place themselves directly in a particular nation’s legal issue. It is pertinent to note that Huckabee’s appearance occurred after US President Donald Trump, who has his share of legal convictions, called for the trial against Netanyahu to be suspended.
‘An act of friendship’: Huckabee
Before he went inside the courthouse, Huckabee told reporters in Tel Aviv that his visit was “an act of friendship” to signal that “we want Israel to be successful.” He went on to accuse the judge, who is overseeing the case, of being biased, and he compared the Israeli leader to Trump, who was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal in 2024.
“It’s an unprecedented thing that while holding office, during an incredibly tense time, that you would spend a lot of your time — as our president had to do — sitting in a courtroom, often before judges who are totally unfair," The American ambassador told reporters outside the Tel Aviv courthouse, The New York Times reported.
Not only this, but Trump’s call for the trial to end was also rare, and many saw it as a direct intervention by an American president in judicial proceedings against an allied leader. The Potus went on to label the Israeli trials as a “ Witch Hunt against their Great wartime prime Minister”.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform TruthSocial. After leaving the courthouse, Huckabee also took to social media and said that Trump was “right … again” about the case. He has also disputed that the president was directly intervening in the trial, contending that Trump was not “trying to pick a side.”
What is the case about?
In 2019, the Israeli prosecutors indicted Netanyahu, accusing him of granting regulatory favours and diplomatic support to prominent businessmen in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage. However, the Israeli premier denied all the charges.
The trial eventually began in 2020 and split the country, with many wondering whether Netanyahu should continue serving in office while the court proceedings take place. His opponents labelled him a “crime minister” whose purported dealings had rendered him unfit for office.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu and his defenders have accused the prosecutors of seeking to undo his election victory through legal means. When it comes to the outcomes, if the prime minister is convicted, Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, could pardon him. But legal analysts say the trial is set to continue for months at the very least.
Another option would be the discussion of a plea bargain, under which Netanyahu would accept some charges in exchange for a suspended sentence. However, Netanyahu has already refused to accept a charge of “moral turpitude,” which would bar him from holding public office for several years.