With the conclusion of years of examinations, investigations and intensive police activity that has been accompanied from the outset by the State Attorney's Office, and after the prime minister's questioning under caution, the die has been cast with the decision to try Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, pursuant to a hearing.
Never before has anything like this happened in Israel. Never before has a decision been made to file an indictment against a sitting prime minister. Two questions must, therefore, be asked. The first: Will the decision by the attorney general, a former Netanyahu confidante whose background does not allow for his being accused of being against the Right, cause Netanyahu electoral damage? And the second: Can Netanyahu continue to serve as prime minister and be re-elected to office?
We will have an answer to the first question in the coming weeks. Polling carried out immediately following the announcement cannot provide an answer, and five weeks is a long time in an election campaign. It is difficult to see this leading right-wing voters toward the Center-Left. And it could be that many Likud voters will be convinced these are false pretexts and that, with an indictment set to be filed against him, Netanyahu is deserving of their support now more than ever. But it may also be that the attorney general's announcement will lead a certain percentage of traditional Likud voters to stay at home on April 9.
The answer to the second question is clearer: The prime minister cannot function under such a dark cloud of criminal activity. He cannot defend himself in court and properly manage the affairs of the state. Even if he succeeds in holding meetings on state affairs during the hours in which the trial is not in session, there is no chance he will not be focusing his energies on the struggle of his life and avoiding prison, this will be true even if he is physically present at a meeting focused on a teachers' or doctors' strike, removing the Iranians from Syria or avoiding a clash with the Russian military there.
Netanyahu will explain in the coming days that Basic Law: The Government allows a prime minister to continue to serve in office until a final court ruling and that the significance of this is that, theoretically, he is entitled to carry out his role in the coming two to three years.
But this is not merely a legal question.
This is not about the presumption of innocence, which is obvious in any democracy. Until the moment the court finds someone guilty, they are innocent, even if the circumstances and testimonies do not leave room for other options in the eyes of the public.
But the presumption of innocence that keeps us from calling someone a "criminal" does not prevent employers from not employing them. And if the individual is a public official, they are suspended as soon as an indictment is filed, and if that person is a minister, they are obligated to resign.
The presumption of innocence is certainly not the right to lead, even if the law permits it. Israel deserves a prime minister that is dedicated in their entirety to the matters of the state. The right thing for a patriot like Netanyahu to do would be to resign from office immediately. The right thing for the heads of the right-wing parties to do would be to announce in advance that they will not sit in a government led by Netanyahu should he be the one tasked with forming it.
