Deri, Katz chuckle over Netanyahu's 'unbelievable luck'
Interior Minister Deri recorded conversing with Transportation Minister Katz on PM Netanyahu's investigations; 'How lucky is Bibi?' Deri says, with Katz concurring: 'Unbelievable'; Finance minister concerned over ‘serious breach of trust’ following exposure of texts indicating judge-attorney collusion in Case 4000.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) were recorded Monday joking about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being extremely "lucky"—possibly referring to the publication of texts exchanged between Judge Ronit Poznanski-Katz and Israel Securities Authority attorney Eran Shacham-Shavit
The two, who appear unaware that they are being recorded, can be heard jovially discussing the latest developments in the investigations surrounding Netanyahu.
Deri and Katz were caught on camera by the Knesset Channel during a special Shas party meeting held for Deri's birthday. The Shas minister then turned to his Likud guest and said, "How lucky Bibi is, how lucky, tell me how lucky."
"It's really something," Deri said, to which Katz replied, "Unbelievable." Deri concurred.
"C'mon, we're all for it," the transportation minister concluded.
The two were also shown speaking about public support the prime minister was receiving in light of his investigations, and an interview Katz had given this past Saturday night in support of his embattled party leader. "I backed him up," Katz said.
"I did too," Deri remarked, "but look at how lucky he is."
Kahlon: 'Serious breach of the rule of law'
Kulanu Chairman and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon touched on the controversy surrounding the text messages as well during his weekly party meeting, describing them as "very grave and a serious breach of the law enforcement system and the public's trust.
"These are two people dealing with people's lives and who influence not only the suspects' lives, but also those of the people around them—their families and, of course, society in general," the finance minister added.
Reiterating that the texts constituted as serious breach of the public's trust, Kahlon said "without it neither the courts nor the rule of law have any meaning. We are all dependent on the public's trust. If the public ceases to believe in us or in the law enforcement systems, that is the greatest possible damage.
"Every citizen's freedom is a basic right. I expect the Supreme Court's chief justice and the Justice Ministry to examine whether similar occurrences took place in the past," he demanded.
Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev also weighed in on the matter Monday, saying during a Knesset plenum session that, "This is law enforcement's Bus 300 affair (involving a 1984 incident in which Shin Bet agents executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crisis incident ended and they had been captured).
"Israeli society woke up this morning to a sad and dangerous day for Israeli democracy. Anyone fearful for the status of the law enforcement establishment in Israel should exercise their full authority, without celebrity discounts."
Minister Regev also called on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to instruct the police to conduct a criminal investigation against both the judge and attorney. "They should be arrested and their phones confiscated for a thorough examination," she said.
"As we have seen, law enforcement authorities know full well how to do that. The correspondence attests to this not being the first time they conversed. As if there is no evidence, no legal proceeding and no defense attorneys. Only the investigator and judge agreeing on the verdict in advance. Is that a fair trial? Is that court?" she asked.
"The justice minister and chief justice cannot make do with an inquiry by the Ombudsman for Complaints against Judges. That's ridiculous, and patently ill-fitting to the severity of this incident. Woe unto us if the judiciary covers up this grave incident, which casts a long shadow over the entire legal system. The Police Investigation Unit should also open an investigation as to which Lahav 433 investigators terrorized the attorney and why," she concluded.
