Tel Aviv, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand Tuesday in his long-running trial for alleged corruption, setting off a weeklong spectacle that will draw unwanted attention to his legal troubles as he faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes and the the fighting in Gaza continues. It is the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has taken the stand as a defendant, an embarrassing milestone for a leader who has tried to cultivate an image as a refined and respected statesman.
At the start of his testimony, Netanyahu said “hello” to the judges. One judge told him that he had the same privileges as other witnesses and that he could sit or stand as he pleased.
“I have been waiting eight years for this moment, to tell the truth,” Netanyahu said, standing at a podium in a packed courtroom in Tel Aviv. He called the charges against him “an ocean of absurdity” and promised his version would break the prosecutor’s case.
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Netanyahu appeared at ease as he began telling his version of events, sharing personal details about his life that he hoped would influence the judges’ perception of him. He said he often lost sleep over media coverage, but found it had no meaningful meaning – contrary to the prosecution’s attempts to portray him as obsessed with image.
He said that he smoked cigars but could hardly finish them because of his work, but that he hated champagne. One case revolves around receiving a “supply line” of cigars and champagne from billionaires.
His lawyer asked if he could receive notes during his testimony so that he could continue to govern the country.
Netanyahu will answer charges of fraud, breach of trust and taking bribes in three separate cases during his court hearings.
He is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for assisting him with personal and business interests. He is also accused of promoting favorable regulations for media moguls in exchange for favorable coverage of himself and his family.
Netanyahu, 75, denies wrongdoing and says the accusations are a witch hunt orchestrated by a hostile media and a biased justice system bent on overthrowing his long rule. His testimony caps years of scandals surrounding him and his family.
The testimony, which will take place six hours a day, three days a week for several weeks, will take up a significant portion of Netanyahu’s working hours, prompting critics to question whether he can competently govern a country embroiled in a war on one front. containing the consequences of a second, and keeping an eye on other potential regional threats, including that of Iran or the recent fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria.
Netanyahu said in his testimony that he could “find a balance” between both obligations.
Dozens of people gathered outside the court in Tel Aviv, some protesting against Netanyahu, including relatives of hostages held in Gaza, as well as a group of his supporters. A banner in front of the court read: ‘Minister of Crime.’
Under Israeli law, indicted prime ministers are not required to resign. But the charges against Netanyahu deepened divisions in Israel, with protesters demanding his resignation and former political allies refusing to serve in government with the Israeli leader, sparking a political crisis that led to five elections in less than four years in 2019 led. only two years ago to quell the political turmoil by striking a deal with smaller right-wing parties that had long languished on the fringes of Israeli politics, form the most far-right government in the country ever.
Netanyahu’s supporters see the charges as the result of the judicial system’s bias and overreach, while his opponents have accused him of prolonging the raging war in Gaza in an attempt to distract or even delay his own legal proceedings . Netanyahu launched the war against Hamas rulers in Gaza immediately after they carried out their brutal terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.
Despite the pressure, the polarizing Netanyahu has rejected calls to resign and has used his position as prime minister to lash out at law enforcement, the media and the courts.
An Israeli court rejected a request by Netanyahu’s lawyers to shorten the expected hours of testimony, as well as several other requests to delay their start, which they said were necessary because of the prime minister’s busy schedule and the country’s major challenges. A ruling is not expected until 2026 at the earliest and Netanyahu will have the option to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The court has spent months hearing prosecution witnesses in the three cases, including some of Netanyahu’s once-close associates who have become state witnesses. Prosecutors have sought to portray the prime minister as an image-obsessed leader who broke the law to improve his public perception.
The most damaging case against Netanyahu involves an influence peddling scandal, in which two of his former close associates testified against him on suspicion of promoting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of regulations to the Israeli telecom company Bezeq. In return, Bezeqs has popular news site Walla would have generated favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his family.
Netanyahu is also said to have offered legislation for newspaper publishers that would weaken his paper’s main rival in exchange for more favorable reporting.
In addition, the Prime Minister is accused of accepting almost $200,000 worth of champagne and cigars from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and in return reportedly operated on Milchan’s behalf on US visa matters, he tried to legislate a generous tax break and tried to further his interests in the Israeli media market.
Netanyahu’s testimony could further tarnish his image at a complicated time for Israel’s longest-serving leader. His popular support waned after the Hamas attack in October 2023, with the public blaming his leadership for failing to prevent the attack, and if elections were held today, polls suggest he would struggle to win a to form a new government.
Israel continues to fight Hamas in Gaza with no end in sight, despite heavy international pressure to end the war, and despite pressure from the families of the hostages still held in Gaza and their supporters to save their loved ones to bring home.
The Israeli leader is also arrested, along with his former defense minister order of the International Criminal Court for war crimes allegations related to the war in Gaza, which his office has dismissed as “absurd and false actions and accusations.”
