Netanyahu’s press conference: A tactless defense of his trial allegations - opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement to the nation and press conference last Thursday evening demonstrated both his strengths and weaknesses. There is no doubt that he is eloquent and fluent in his speech, especially when he appears on his own, in a situation in which he cannot be interrupted.

This occurred at the press conference where representatives of the media were not physically present but only online and could be heard only if the prime minister’s staff wished them to be heard. In addition, each reporter was only allowed a single question, even though two reporters managed to push in an additional question, of the sort Netanyahu finds awkward to answer.

While listing the goals of the current war against Iran, such as obliterating Iran’s nuclear capability and destroying its ability to launch missiles and rockets against Israel and other states, Netanyahu indirectly admitted that the war itself might not bring down the regime of the ayatollahs (experts keep saying that no regime was ever toppled by means of airstrikes only). However, he added that Israel and the US are preparing the ground for the Iranian people to do the job.

In a backhanded manner, Netanyahu denied having spoken to Trump about his intervening in the demand for a pardon, and added that he had no intention of criticizing Trump for what he had said about the Israeli president.

In his answer to the first reporter (Yaron Avraham from Channel 12), Netanyahu said, “American presidents are entitled to say whatever is in their hearts… [Trump] said what he said because he thinks there is a manhunt going on here. He is right. He thinks there is a political hunt going on, a trial that should never have come to the world, and should have been closed, after all sorts of awful things turned up: blackmail with threats, the forgery of minutes, the use of spyware… Where has anything like this been heard of in a free country?”

He continued, “It is the right of President Trump to say whatever he wants. I am not responsible for what he says… You may ask whether he speaks from the bottom of his heart – yes, he speaks from the bottom of his heart.”

I, like many others, was shocked by this answer. I went back to listen to a recording of the statement and press conference, to make sure that it was an accurate quote of what Netanyahu had said. Netanyahu should have, undoubtedly, been more careful and stately in what he said.

Besides, since at least one witness for the prosecution – Hadas Klein – was blackmailed and threatened by supporters of the prime minister, and since Netanyahu and other persons on his behalf are suspected of having doctored or forged the minutes of meetings connected to his alleged responsibility for the October 7 massacre, perhaps some humility is called for.

Netanyahu also added the argument that no ordinary citizen would be indicted on the basis of the charges he was indicted on. Of course not. Netanyahu was indicted on the grounds that he was a serving prime minister when the alleged offenses were committed, and inter alia, there are rules of conduct (or rules of ethics) that apply to persons holding high office and certain professions (lawyers and doctors, for example) but not to ordinary citizens.

In Israel, there are rules of ethics for MKs – and Netanyahu is an MK in addition to being prime minister. In 2008, rules of ethics for members of the government were prepared by a committee chaired by former president of the Supreme Court Meir Shamgar. Three former justice ministers, who served in Netanyahu governments – Yaacov Ne’eman, Tzipi Livni, and Ayelet Shaked – had all dealt with the implementation of the committee’s recommendations.

However, the rules were never implemented, and were not introduced into Basic Law: The Government, as had been originally intended. It is believed that Netanyahu himself had objected to some of these rules, for personal reasons, which is one of the explanations for why they were shelved.

However, even without rules of ethics for members of the government, the Israeli law does deal with the conduct of ministers and the prime minister on matters related to conflict of interests.

Of course, Netanyahu has every right to believe he is totally innocent and profess this belief. However, the courtroom is the place where he can try, by all legitimate means, to prove his innocence – not a press conference, where he is asked legitimate questions by journalists, on behalf of their readers or listeners, and replies aggressively, without any concrete proof for what he is saying. I would describe what Netanyahu said last Thursday regarding his trial as a faux pas – a tactless act that violates etiquette.