Like a fight between friends who disagree on a few things and agree on a lot, both described the angry phone call of the former to the latter. Both leaders yesterday avoided adding fuel to the fire that broke out after the leak to the press of the “french” with which the American president bathed the Israeli prime minister, allegedly for his insistence on attacking Lebanon undermining the negotiation between and . But what both carefully avoided commenting on was the information that Trump in one of his outbursts told Netanyahu that “without me you would be in jail.”
What did the American president mean? Was he referring only to the political support he has offered to his friend or to interventions in the Israeli judiciary, before which Netanyahu has been facing serious charges of abuse of power and corruption for years? The American president had demanded a few months ago – even from the floor of the Israeli parliament – that Netanyahu be pardoned by the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, characteristically saying “who the hell cares about cigars and champagne, when it comes to a very popular man who knows how to win”.
Another pending issue in Israel is the attribution of responsibility for the October 7, 2023 “fiasco.” Although Netanyahu has taken political responsibility, accountability remains for government actions and omissions that allowed Hamas to surprise the Israeli military and security services on that fateful morning. Could Trump be holding Netanyahu from somewhere and reminded him of it during the phone call?
Another explanation given by analysts is that it is theatrics and a communication game through leaked information, with Trump and Netanyahu in the roles of “good” and “bad” cops, without substantial changes in their policies. Other commentators insist that Trump sees Netanyahu as having lured him into attacking Iran and is desperately seeking a way out of the crisis.
However, the leaders of Israel’s largest opposition parties accuse the prime minister of bowing to pressure from Trump, stalling the attack on Beirut by “tying the hands of the IDF” and downgrading Israel to a “protectorate”. Those who aspire to “oust” Netanyahu in Israel’s elections in a few months accuse him of a lack of courage and of yielding to the US while calling for even more drastic measures to secure the Jewish state.
“Mafia methods” in the Knesset
While Trump and Netanyahu were giving interviews to the American media yesterday to smooth out the impressions and explain their policy in Iran, inside the Israeli parliament (Knesset) scenes of infinite beauty were unfolding. Opposition leaders have accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of using mafia methods to install his personal lawyer, Michael Rabelo, as the state’s new Auditor General (a position that should in theory be filled by a senior party figure) in order to secure immunity from possible new investigations against him.
The political conflict reached unprecedented proportions, even by Israeli standards, when the government camp was defeated in the first secret ballot. The opposition nominee, retired Supreme Court judge Yosef Elron, received 60 votes while Netanyahu’s chosen one collected 57 votes, out of a total of 120 seats. This meant that some MPs in the ruling coalition (most likely from Netanyahu’s Likud party) disapproved of the prime minister’s choice. Elron was not elected by just one vote while having a clear lead in the second round where a simple majority would be needed.
With the cell phone on the screen
As the second vote got underway, rumors circulated strongly in Parliament that the prime minister’s office demanded that Likud MPs photograph or videotape themselves behind the screen as they put the correct ballot into the envelope, violating the secrecy of the vote. Pandemonium ensued with opposition leaders denouncing the government as a “criminal gang”. Parliament Speaker Amir Ohana, who belongs to Netanyahu’s party, suspended the vote, but later ruled that MPs have the right to have their mobile phones behind the screen, despite the contrary recommendation of the Parliament’s Legal Council.
When the vote resumed, some Likud ministers and MPs ostentatiously held up their cellphones as they entered behind the screen, while at least one MP uploaded the video to social media. In the end, Netanyahu’s lawyer prevailed with a vote of 61-57.
Opposition leaders, Yairi Lapid and Naftali Bennett, said they would appeal to the Court to annul Rabelo’s election. Netanyahu imposed his consiglieri as Auditor General, Bennett charged, while Avigdor Lieberman accused the prime minister of demeaning Parliament reminiscent of North Korea. Other political leaders and MPs said the breach of the secrecy of the parliamentary vote bodes badly for parliamentary elections that could be held early in September or by October at the latest.
