February 14, 2018
NATIONALISM ALWAYS LEADS TOP CRONYISM*:
Can Netanyahu Survive? (GREGG CARLSTROM, February 13, 2018, Politico)
After a long probe, investigators recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery in two separate cases. In one, dubbed "Case 1000," he allegedly received lavish gifts--cigars, champagne, tailored suits--from wealthy businessmen, in exchange for political favors. The police estimated the value of the gifts at one million shekels, or $282,000. The other ("Case 2000") involves the publisher of Yediot Aharonot, Israel's largest paid daily newspaper. Netanyahu is accused of colluding with the media mogul, trading favorable coverage for a law that would have helped Yediot's bottom line. [...][F]or now, the question of survival remains political rather than legal: Can he maintain his coalition? A decade ago, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was accused of taking bribes, could not. It was in fact Netanyahu, who was opposition leader at the time, who spent months campaigning mercilessly against his rival. "A prime minister who is sunk up to his neck in investigations has no moral and public mandate," he said.
As we've seen from the Trumpbots, folks who are morally compromised enough to desire an ethno-state can hardly object to some pocket-lining.
(*) Thanks, Clovis.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 14, 2018 4:14 AM