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A post written by Moshik Koverski https://t.me/israelus/5340 A Pardon? Maybe for the Stitch-Up Artists Dan Nachman / Moshik Kovarsky The news that Prime Minister Netanyahu submitted a request to the President to end his trial caught everyone by surprise—left and right alike. Almost everyone has an opinion, but unfortunately, most of the public does not truly know the facts of the “Cases 1000–4000”: what is actually in them, and what really stood behind the filing of the indictments. One of the undersigned (Moshik) was among the founders of Project 315, a volunteer initiative launched in April 2021, when the trial began. The project thoroughly analyzed the indictments, the transcripts from all court hearings, and many other documents. Already in January 2022, I published on the “Mida” website a 3,000-word article titled “A Regime Change by Legal Means: How the Attack on Israeli Democracy Was Carried Out” (search it on Google). In the article, I reviewed—step by step—how the investigations began, how they were conducted, and what stood behind them. We were ourselves surprised when, later on, the prosecution witnesses took the stand and it became clear how significantly facts were distorted, how many exculpatory pieces of evidence were concealed, how witnesses were allegedly extorted and subjected to illegal investigative tactics, how unlawful spyware was used, and more violations of various kinds. The interrogation transcripts—for example, that of state witness Ari Harow, one of those never read aloud on Channel 12—show how investigators exploited his questioning (regarding an unrelated alleged offense) to conduct a fishing expedition against his boss. One investigator said: “I want those cases where you were present, in Netanyahu’s circle… Just tell me what was improper, what was forbidden, what was illegal. Tell me the incidents—without Momi or Dani now asking you specific questions.” (We’ll just note that the name “Momi” may be familiar from recent reports regarding the Military Advocate General’s investigation.) You could write a book showing how flimsy, absurd, and distorted the prosecution’s evidence is. For example: regarding the 690,000 NIS listed in the indictment as the value of cigars and champagne the Prime Minister and his wife allegedly received from Milchan and Packer—Police Officer Amnon Eliyaz, who compiled the spreadsheet, testified that this was the consumption of the billionaires themselves for their entire households, and that there is no evidence connecting the large majority of that sum to Netanyahu. He confirmed that he objected to this already at the time. Similarly, regarding the so-called “guidance meeting,” the cornerstone of the Case 4000 bribery charge: Senior Officer Tzachi Havkin testified just last month that Lahav 433 knew from phone-location records that the meeting never took place. And yet they inserted it into the indictment and pressured Filber to give false testimony that it indeed occurred. Already in June 2023—less than four months before October 7—the judges called the attorneys to chambers and said it would be difficult to establish bribery in Case 4000, the very offense which supposedly tipped the scales toward filing the indictments. But the prosecution, stubborn and condescending, waved off the judges’ remarks and continued flogging the State of Israel and the Prime Minister with whips and scorpions. Their goal was to drag the Prime Minister to the witness stand and exhaust him with endless questions about events from 10, 15, even 30 years ago—events no person could possibly remember. As with the “stitch-up artists” ten years ago, their objective was to remove Netanyahu from political life. But the public chose otherwise. And so we reach the current moment, with seismic developments unfolding in the Middle East—for better and for worse. Peace and war. Risks and opportunities. Yet instead of dealing with urgent national priorities, the Prime Minister spends three days a week at the Tel Aviv District Court answering dull, ridiculous questions about his attitude toward the media, what meals Milchan’s cook made, and the size of the Bugs Bunny doll his son Yair received at age four—thirty years ago. If it weren’t so sad, it would be comical. How do we stop this madness? In a normal country, the chief prosecutor—today the Attorney General—would reconsider the situation, halt this farcical trial, or at least agree with the defense to reorder the witnesses and allow the defense to bring its dozens of witnesses before the Prime Minister testifies. But they refuse to release their jaws from the prey. In this situation, Netanyahu had no choice but to turn to the President, who holds exclusive authority. Netanyahu stands by his innocence, does not withdraw the claim that serious offenses were committed during the investigation and prosecution, and even though he knows that petty critics will exploit the request to attack him, he is placing the state’s good above all else. Naturally, he has no intention of giving them what they really want: his resignation. Will the President grant the request? Not certain. It depends on which fear weighs more heavily on him: the fear of his natural (and future) political base—or the fear of U.S. President Trump, who is beginning to lose patience with the wasting of his partner Netanyahu’s time. We will know the answer soon. But whatever it may be—in our eyes, Benjamin Netanyahu is innocent, and essential to the leadership of the country with 100% of his time. #israel #bibi