Texts and politics: The conspiracy that never was
Analysis: Netanyahu and Likud are waging an open battle against the rule of law. Any mistake made by an investigator, a judge or an attorney, any unnecessary interview given by the police chief, any tweet by an advisor, are immediately being used to create drama and sling mud at the system.
The investigations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are bringing the systems’ nerves to a breaking point. Netanyahu is waging an open battle against the rule of law, both directly and through his friends in the Likud party. Any mistake made by an investigator, a judge or an attorney, any unnecessary interview given by the police commissioner, any tweet by an advisor, are immediately used to create drama and sling mud at the system.
Netanyahu's people are crying out that the investigation has been polluted. And who, might we ask, polluted the police investigators?
Let’s be clear: There should have been no exchange of text messages between the judge and the investigator. These messages are unaesthetic, they create an uncomfortable feeling and undermine the public’s faith. And the public’s faith in the system is critical.
Having said that, the full correspondence presents a different picture. It wasn’t that serious. The judge and the investigator weren’t trying to keep up a false pretense vis-à-vis the suspects. They were trying to fool the police. The Lahav 433 investigators wanted to take a firmer hand against the suspects. The judge and the ISA investigator wanted to show some leniency, behind the police’s back.
This isn’t the last round between Netanyahu and the law enforcement system. As investigations on the submarine affair and in the Bezeq affair progress—and when the time comes to make decisions—Netanyahu and his people will increase the pressure with further attacks. They have no intention of giving up. This battle will include everything, except stateliness.
The text messages affair gave Likud and Netanyahu some fuel. You see, they’re telling the public, it’s a fixed game. It’s a conspiracy.
That isn’t true, of course. Walla! News CEO Ilan Yeshua and Netanyahu's right-hand man, Shlomo Filber, have provided and are providing plenty of evidence—testimonies, recordings, you name it. A flawed remand proceeding can’t erase what looks like strong evidence in the Bezeq affair.
The text messages affair could have been used by Netanyahu and Likud as an opportunity to call elections. It seems, however, that the prime minister is still hesitant. His coalition partners aren’t interested in elections either.
This situation places Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked in a complicated position. In light of the criticism voiced by the prime minister’s former advisor, Nir Hefetz, about the conditions of his arrest, and relations between the investigating authority and the prosecuting authority, they are torn between the need to go with their right-wing political base and the need to act in a stately manner and defend the systems that they have been tasked to run.
They were likely unhappy with Culture Minister Miri Regev’s criticism against Erdan and Shaked over the arrest of her good friend Hefetz. Now, Likud members are already talking about appointing a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the text messages affair. The next thing we know, they won’t just interrogate the investigators—they’ll replace them.
On the eve of Israel’s 70th Independence Day, the state appears to be more polarized than ever. It’s been 70 years, after all. We’ve gone to the pot, the cynics will say. But it seems to be time for a reform.
