World News: Amid Coalition Gridlock, PM Netanyahu to be Indicted for Bribery: What’s Next for Israel

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Category: World News - Europe

Published on Sunday, 24 November 2019 18:56

Written by Gerald McGlothlin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon be tried for corruption charges including bribery, what is next for an Israel that has a gridlocked political system and may soon be facing the third round of elections in less than a year?

Can Netanyahu continue to lead while under indictment, and if not him, then whom?

Here to answer these and other questions, is David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh (in Samaria), and author of the book "Trump and the Jews."

Q. What is Netanyahu being indicted for? 

A. The Attorney General has just announced that Netanyahu will be tried for a variety of corruption charges, including bribery.

Q. What is the alleged bribery charge and is it a result of a biased 'witch hunt,' similar to the Democrats' impeachment proceedings against President Trump? 

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A. Netanyahu has been accused of pushing through legislation favorable to the Bezek telecommunications giant, in exchange for more positive media coverage on the Bezek-owned Walla news site. That may or may not lead to a conviction, but unlike the three-ring circus in Washington, which is clearly being conducted by anti-Trump Democrats, the Netanyahu investigation was led by Avichai Mandelblit, the highly respected jurist, who was appointed Attorney General by the Prime Minister himself.

Q. Can Netanyahu remain prime minister under indictment, and if so, can he effectively compete in the latest round of elections which may soon be coming? 

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A. He is legally permitted to remain in office, even while defending himself in court, but whether his image has been too tainted to win an election or put together a coalition, that is the real question.

Q. If there are new elections, does that mean that Benny Gantz, the leader of the left-of-center Blue and White party is now the odds-on favorite to be the next prime minister? 

A. That is unlikely. It's important to remember that Israel is still a country in which a majority of voters hold right-of-center views.

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Q. Are there any potential right-of-center candidates with a serious chance of winning instead of Netanyahu? 

A. Yes, three come to mind. First, there is Knesset Member Gideon Sa'ar from Netanyahu's Likud, who has recently called for a Likud leadership primary to precede an election. The second is Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who is not as eloquent as Netanyahu and is another possible contender. But there is a third interesting potential leader, Ayelet Shaked, a woman who is a highly-regarded former Justice Minister, aligned with, although not officially from the Likud, yet highly regarded within the Likud. She has toyed with the idea of running for Prime Minister when Netanyahu leaves the scene.

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A. Where can people get a copy of your book, "Trump and the Jews"? 

Q. You can go to my website www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or just go to Amazon and type in the words "Trump and the Jews". 

Bio: David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of the book, "Trump and the Jews". Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children's Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack. He can be found at www.DavidRubinIsrael.com  or at http://www.ShilohIsraelChildren.org