Netanyahu’s defense team scores points
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can be happy with his week: His rival Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is deep in coalition trouble, and his own trial offers him some small legal victories.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, appeared last week at Jerusalem District Court for the cross examination of the state’s key witness against him — Shlomo Filber.
Since his trial began in May 2020, Netanyahu has rarely appeared in court, but once Filber took the stand, he has made it a point to be present on occasion for the testimony of his former close aide, which is crucial to the state’s case. The state alleges that Netanyahu appointed Filber in June 2015 to head the Ministry of Communications so that Netanyahu would approve regulatory benefits for Shaul Elovitch, owner of the Bezeq telecommunications group and Walla news site, in return for favorable coverage of himself and his wife.
