Ninth day of Netanyahu corruption trial testimony ends

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ninth corruption trial testimony hearing has ended.
 
 
 

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made what he said was a rare call to media bribery scheme co-defendant Shaul Elovitch about an article that actually mattered to him, the then-Walla owner did nothing to help him.

The article, which was about Netanyahu's wife, "actually hurt him," but Elovitch did nothing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his Wednesday corruption trial testimony that he meant to bring balance to the media, not take control of it.

Netanyahu said that an investigation had opened into him because he wanted a more diverse media.

“This is political persecution that continues to this day, including yesterday, and two of my spokespeople are being wrongfully accused,” said Netanyahu, referencing the aides indicted on Tuesday for harassing state’s witness and former Communication Ministry director Shlomo Filber.

During his Wednesday corruption trial testimony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu questioned highlighted conversations between ex-Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua and President Isaac Herzog to demonstrate how communication between politicians and the media was the norm, in a challenge to the prosecution's media bribery scheme theory.

In a conversation with Herzog about pre-election polls, Yeshua congratulated the then-Zionist Union leader for positive polling, telling him, "Don't hesitate for my help and text me any time."

Netanyahu said that there was no indication of bribery in the correspondence but an understanding between ideological compatriots, and it was the same between him and co-defendant and ex-Walla owner Shaul Elovitch. 

Judge Moshe Bar-Am criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's defense team for the repetitiveness of their arguments at the Israeli leader's Wednesday corruption trial testimony.

Defense Attorney Amit Haddad had been presenting Walla articles to Netanyahu for commentary, to express how the coverage of the prime minister had been negative and therefore not indicative of a media bribery scheme.  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at his Wednesday corruption trial testimony that the prosecution had included a general press release as a personal demand to Walla for media coverage as evidence of a media bribery scheme.

"There is a limit to this absurdity," said Netanyahu, almost swearing in English before stopping himself. "What the --?" 

Controversy about the role of media in the courtroom arose at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial testimony on Wednesday, with Defense Attorney Amit Haddad accusing journalists of harassing his client as he entered the room after a break in the hearing.

"They're bringing politics into the courtroom," said Haddad.

Journalists filmed Netanyahu with their phones and challenged him for updates on the Hamas hostage situation. The customary photography at the beginning of the hearing had not been held, so journalists were allowed to film at the end of the break.

Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman chastised the media -- especially when they attempted to explain themselves -- asserting that the courtroom was for legal deliberations, not for conversation or interviews. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the previous leadership and staff of Walla to a "cult" during his Wednesday corruption trial testimony, challenging claims of a media bribery scheme.

Netanyahu said that while preparing for the trial he discovered that the outlet was a “kind of ‘cult’ that sees me as an enemy of the people. The book 1984 – that’s me, the enemy of the people.”

“This permeates the entire outlet. A closed outlet – a cult.”

Netanyahu said that he was perceived by Walla staff as being like a North Korean dictator.

The prime minister said that it was necessary to explore this because of the claims of the prosecution that the relationship between Walla and Netanyahu were unusual.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged how there could be allegations that he had a media bribery scheme with ex-Walla owner Shaul Elovitch when his co-defendant didn't take actions expected of someone supposedly tasked with ensuring him positive news coverage.

Defense Attorney Amit Haddad read to the court messages between then-Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua and Elovitch, in which the owner decided to not remove a negative article about Netanyahu's son.
 
"Don't remove it. Keep it," Elovtich allegedly said.

Netanyahu asked how there could be an agreement if Elovitch didn't remove a negative story about his son, adding that this came during the election period.

Netanyahu said that the Walla writer kept hitting "a hammer on my head all the time, during the money time of the elections."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an envelope during his testimony and requested a break to address the contents.

The contents of the envelope were not urgent enough that Defense Attorney Amit Haddad had to end his line of questioning before the break.