Israel: How a Trifecta of Court Cases Could Cement King Bibi's 12-Year Reign
Three separate court cases have converged in Israel to provide Netanyahu the
cover he needs to maintain power amid an endless stream of controversies.
by Miko Peled
February 16th, 2021
Mint Press
By Miko Peled
Three judicial matters have been in Israeli headlines recently, all of them
very serious in nature and all likely to serve Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming Israeli elections.
The first is the indicted prime minister's court hearing in early February
regarding his ongoing corruption case. The second is that the prosecutor at
the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that the territories Israel
occupied in 1967 are within its jurisdiction, meaning that many Israelis may
well be the subject of war-crimes investigations. The third is an Israeli
court ruling from January 2021 banning the 2003 film "Jenin, Jenin," made by
Palestinian actor and director Mohammad Bakri. The film documents the
atrocities committed by IDF forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the spring
of 2002. All three are likely to raise serious concerns among the highest
echelons of the Israeli government.
Yet even as these court cases loom over him, his government, and the Israeli
military, and with national elections rapidly approaching, for Netanyahu
these crises present opportunity. Taking the familiar pages from the Trump
playbook, Netanyahu can turn every accusation of corruption into an attack
by liberals, any claims of war crimes, or even misconduct by Israeli forces,
into an attack on all Jews by antisemitic forces. Only in Netanyahu's Israel
could so many problems be a blessing.
What You Need to Know about the ICC Investigation of War Crimes in Occupied
Palestine
The International Criminal Court (ICC), has settled the doubts on the
Court's jurisdiction to investigate Israel's war crimes in Palestine.
MintPress News | Romana Rubeo | May 18, 2020
Indeed, Netanyahu and his supporters claim that the corruption charges
against him represent persecution of the prime minister by the liberal press
and a biased judicial system. He is leading the charge to attack the ICC and
has already stated that its decision is antisemitism raising its ugly head
again. As for "Jenin, Jenin," it is being universally condemned in Israel
and is characterized as libelous and totally false.
When you are Benjamin Netanyahu, the best card player in the casino of
Israeli politics - when you are the one who knows how to play everyone else
in the room, possessing decades of experience - there's nothing better than
a good crisis. It helps to rally people around you. As a matter of fact,
dealing with crises is what Netanyahu does best.
Indictment? No problem!
According to the Times of Israel, because Netanyahu's corruption case has
been in the news cycle for close to five years already, "[a]ny political
fallout is already baked into the views, poll responses, and voting
calculations on all sides." In other words, nobody cares, and the election
results will not be affected in any significant way.
Furthermore, the Times states that many of Netanyahu's supporters "agree
with Netanyahu that he is being unfairly targeted by a politicized
prosecution." Those who feel that the accusations of corruption against him
have merit argue that "the advantages he brings as a leader far outstrip any
possible malfeasance claimed in the indictment." In fact, polls quoted in
the Times show that "up to 54 percent of Israelis think he's the best prime
ministerial candidate."
Making a deal with the devil
When no crisis is available, Netanyahu creates his own. Tensions along the
border with Syria, a threat from Iran, or an impending War on Gaza are the
usual favorites and work very well.
In recent days Netanyahu and his Likud Party signed an agreement with the
most right-wing elements in the Zionist political spectrum. The worst
neo-fascist religious fanatics within Israel have always been his natural
allies and he has now come to an official agreement with them on a
vote-sharing deal called "surplus votes." Under the agreement, "Likud
promised that Netanyahu would include Religious Zionism MKs 'in any
government he forms.'" That means that after Knesset votes are counted and
applied towards seats in the Israeli Parliament, any leftover votes must be
shared with Israel's militant, right-wing religious fanatics.
Surplus vote-sharing agreements are widely used in Israeli elections and
allow parties to ensure that extra votes do not go to waste. Instead, the
parties utilize them through special agreements with other parties.
Why the Outrage? "Jewish Power" Party is the New Norm in Israeli Politics
Before Netanyahu's alliance with the far-right Jewish Power Party, Israel
was hardly a liberal democracy that shunned racism says Ramzy Baroud
MintPress News | Ramzy Baroud | Mar 5, 2019
While the vote-sharing agreement has irked many in the center and what is
sometimes referred to as the center-left of Israeli politics, it shows once
again that Netanyahu calls the shots as he sees fit. If other members of the
Knesset and even of his own party are unhappy, well then, they are welcome
to go elsewhere. However, with nowhere else to go, year after year and
election after election, not only do members of his party come running to
him, members of the other parties do too.
The parties with which Netanyahu's Likud signed the vote-sharing agreement
include the far-right Religious Zionism Party and the openly racist "Otzma
Yehudit," or Jewish Might. Members of these parties support an ideology that
includes expelling Palestinians who refuse to declare loyalty to Israel and
accept diminished status in an expanded Jewish state. Some party members
also support LGBT conversion therapy. These fanatic religious-Zionist
parties represent armed gangs that openly terrorize Palestinians across the
country.
The International Criminal Court ruling
After lengthy deliberations that led to a landmark decision, the
International Criminal Court ruled that it has jurisdiction over war crimes
committed by Israel in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. This
ruling opens the door to possible criminal charges against Israeli military
personnel and potentially even against government officials.
Netanyahu called the international tribunal's decision "pure antisemitism,"
a meritless claim he failed to explain. The ruling addresses specific
incidents in which the Israeli military was involved and has absolutely
nothing to do with Jewish people.
After nearly 20 years, court ruling bans Jenin Jenin
Israel's Central District Court has banned the screening of the 2003
documentary film "Jenin Jenin" and ordered the confiscation of all copies of
the film in the country. In addition, the court ordered the film's director,
Mohammed Bakri, to pay Lt. Col. Nissim Magnagi, one of the reservist
officers who was allegedly present during the assault on the Jenin refugee
camp and was shown for a brief moment in the film, 175,000 shekels in
damages on top of 50,000 shekels in legal expenses.
Court Rules Palestinian Filmmaker Must Pay Damages To Israeli Soldier Who
Took Part in Massacre
A court ruled that a Palestinian filmmaker must pay damages to an Israeli
soldier shown in Jenin, Jenin, a film about an Israeli raid on a refugee
camp.
MintPress News | Miko Peled | Jan 22
One has to question the merits of banning a film in 2021 when it was made in
2003. There are no public screenings of the film and the only viewers that
watch it do so online - and that of course cannot be banned. The fine,
however, is a blow and it has yet to be seen what will happen when the
decision reaches a higher court for appeal.
Of the three judicial issues stated here, only one pertains to Netanyahu and
is likely to have little or no effect on his chances to win the elections.
The other two only confirm what the Israeli electorate already believes,
that the International Criminal Court is antisemitic and that a film made by
a Palestinian showing Israeli military crimes must be a vicious, libelous
lie, and the common wisdom is that Netanyahu knows better than anyone how to
deal with the anti-Semites.
The Israeli electorate is used to both crises and to the controversy
surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The results of the next
election, just like the results of the three previous ones, are almost
guaranteed to go in his favor.
Feature photo | Israeli protesters hold signs during a