The indictments issued Dec. 5 in the “submarine affair” have left many Israelis wondering about the key question of how only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged virtually unscathed from the massive corruption scandal. How is it possible that some of the prime minister’s closest confidants — including his personal lawyer and cousin David Shimron, his designated national security adviser Avriel Bar-Yosef, former commander of the Israeli navy Eliezer Marom, and others — are up to their necks in the scandal, while the head of the pyramid manages to wriggle out without so much as police questioning under caution?
The affair was named after the purchase of three strategic attack submarines from the German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp, which Netanyahu sought to push through, but is in fact far broader than this one deal. It includes the purchase of additional military naval craft and an attempt by a group of business people, lawyers and former senior officers to take over Israel’s lucrative military acquisitions, dictate its components and rake in huge fees.
The question, following the investigation and this week’s indictments of many of those involved, is whether police have cracked the complex affair and laid it to rest. The answer is “no.” No one in Israel — other than a handful of researchers, journalists and conspiracy theorists — has a complete and convincing answer to the riddle at the heart of the scandal. The partial indictments announced by the state prosecution constitute a superficial, cosmetic handling of the rot that has spread through the holy of holies of Israel’s national security.
The affair initially appeared headed for speedy, easy resolution once Miki Ganor, a businessman catapulted into the fulcrum of Israel’s defense acquisitions, turned state’s witness. However, Ganor, who served as Thyssenkrupp’s Israel representative and was publicly dubbed a traitor once the story broke, recanted his testimony, generating evidentiary difficulties for the prosecutions. These difficulties enabled in turn his close associate David Shimron to emerge from the affair by the skin of his teeth with only a money laundering charge. Law enforcement authorities are hoping this is not the end of the affair. Ganor, 68, is not someone used to lengthy incarceration. The bribery indictment against him is particularly severe and the prosecution has decided to go after him with full force. “When he realizes that he faces over 10 years in jail — meaning that he will spend the rest of his life in prison — he may change his mind and agree to turn state’s evidence. This time it will happen on our terms, not his,” a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor several weeks ago.
