CONCEPT – BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

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 CONCEPT – BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

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• Who is Benjamin Netanyahu : Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel. He joined the Israeli military in 1967, moving into the special operations force that rescued a hijacked airplane at the Tel Aviv airport in 1972. Netanyahu became leader of the right-wing Likud party in 1993 and has gone on to serve as prime minister for multiple terms.
• Background : Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel and grew up in Jerusalem. He spent most of his teen years living in the Philadelphia area, where his father, noted Jewish historian Benzion Netanyahu, worked as a professor. 

1. In 1967, he returned to Israel to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces' elite unit, "Sayeret Matkal," and took part in a number of military operations, including the dramatic 1972 rescue of a hijacked Sabena passenger jet. Codenamed "Operation Isotope," the rescue was led by future Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

• Diplomatic Work : Netanyahu returned to the United States that same year and went on to receive degrees in architecture and business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1976, he was employed by the Boston Consulting Group, but returned to Israel following the death of Yoni, his eldest brother, who was killed while attempting to free hostages from a hijacked Air France airliner in Uganda. 

1. Netanyahu became highly involved in international counterterrorism efforts, which helped launch his political career. After serving in the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. (1982-84), he became the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations (1984-88). During his time at the U.N., he successfully led a campaign to declassify U.N. archives on Nazi war crimes.

• Political Success : In 1988, Netanyahu was elected a member of the Knesset (Israel's parliament) by the right-wing Likud Party and served as deputy minister for foreign affairs. Five years later, he was elected chairman of the Likud Party and its prime minister candidate. In 1996, he was elected prime minister of Israel, defeating incumbent Labor candidate Shimon Peres. Netanyahu served as prime minister until 1999. During his term, he signed the Hebron and Wye Accords, advancing the peace process with the Palestinians. He also expanded government privatization, liberalized currency regulations and reduced deficits.

1. After resigning from the Knesset following his election loss to his former commander Barak, Netanyahu worked in the private sector and toured on the lecture circuit. He returned to politics in 2002, serving as minister of foreign affairs before becoming minister of finance. 
2. On March 31, 2009, Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister for the second time, punctuating his victory by establishing a national unity government and calling for a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state. In his famous June 2009 address to Bar-Ilan University, he said, "I told President Obama in Washington, if we get a guarantee of demilitarization, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, we are ready to agree to a real peace agreement, a demilitarized Palestinian state side by side with the Jewish state."

• Objections to Nuclear Program : However, Netanyahu found himself at odds with the United States in November 2013. He objected to the deal reached between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear program, with terms that included the reduction or suspension of efforts to enrich uranium in exchange for a loosening of existing sanctions. According to CNN, Netanyahu blasted the deal as "a historic mistake," adding that "sanctions that took years to put in place are going to be eased."

1. The year 2014 brought great turmoil for the region, with conflict escalating rapidly during the summer between Palestinian military group Hamas and Israel after the killing of three teenagers. The Gaza region was targeted by Israeli forces as a Hamas stronghold, with thousands of rockets fired and international outcry ensuing over the destruction and massive loss of civilian life. In December of that year, Netanyahu fired two of his cabinet members, citing their critiques of the government, and initiated the dissolution of the coalition parliament, with new elections to be held in March of the next year. 
2. In early March 2015, two weeks before his country's elections, Netanyahu addressed a highly partisan U.S. Congress to further critique America's policy on Iran's nuclear program. President Obama continued to defend the plan, with the two leaders having notably different stances on what the end goal for Iran's weapons capabilities should be.

• 2015 Reelection Amid Controversy : Netanyahu won his country's mid-March elections, defeating Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union alliance, who focused more on domestic issues during his campaign. The Likud party earned 30 parliamentary suits and was geared to be the head of a coalition government. 

1. Further controversy arose with analysts critiquing the leader's use of anti-Arab rhetoric as voters went to the polls (for which he later apologized), with Netanyahu having also delivered wavering comments about supporting the creation of a Palestinian state. He clarified his statements immediately after the elections and said a two-state solution remained on the table.

• Investigations and Protests : In August 2017, it was revealed that Netanyahu had been named a suspect in two investigations into allegations of "fraud, breach of trust and bribes." One case involved his acceptance of gifts from two prominent businessmen, while the second centered on his alleged attempt to coerce a newspaper into more favorable coverage of his tenure.

1. Subsequently, the Likud Party sponsored the so-called "recommendations bill" to limit the information made available to the public during investigations and end the practice of police recommending to prosecutors whether to indict suspects. 
2. The bill sparked outrage from critics, who viewed it as a blatant attempt to shield Netanyahu from a potentially unfavorable outcome to the investigations. On December 2, days before parliament was expected to ratify the bill, opponents held a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv that involved an estimated 20,000 protesters. The following day, Netanyahu said he had instructed his political allies to reword the bill so it didn't appear to conflict with his ongoing investigations.

• On February 13, 2018, Israeli police released a statement in which they said there was enough evidence from the two investigations to indict Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. However, Netanyahu brushed off the notion that he would be subjected to punishment, saying on TV that he would continue as prime minister and that the allegations "will end with nothing.“
• One year later, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced that he planned to indict Netanyahu on multiple charges. The prime minister was entitled to a hearing before being formally indicted.
• 2019 Reelection and Fifth Term : Amid the looming indictments, Netanyahu faced a challenge from former army chief Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White alliance, in his bid to remain in power as prime minister.
• On April 10, 2019, following a closely contested race, Gantz conceded defeat to his opponent. Although Israel's President, Reuven Rivlin, would have the final say in picking the person to lead a majority coalition in the Knesset, Netanyahu was all but assured of embarking on a record fifth term as prime minister. But in Sept 2019, the tables had turned!
• Here’s a look at the background and current cases facing the longtime Israeli leader:
• TELECOM TRADE-OFF : The most damaging case against Netanyahu involves an influence-peddling scandal in which two of his formerly closest aides are testifying against him on suspicion of promoting regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel’s Bezeq telecom company. In return, Bezeq’s popular news site, Walla, allegedly provided favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his family. Nir Hefetz, a former Netanyahu family spokesman, and Shlomo Filber, the former director of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu, cut deals with prosecutors after they were arrested along with Bezeq’s controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch, his wife, son and other top Bezeq executives. Former journalists at the Walla news site have attested to being pressured to refrain from negative reporting of Netanyahu.
• LAVISH GIFTS : Police recommended indicting Netanyahu over accepting nearly $300,000 in gifts from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.
• Police say that in return for jewelry, expensive cigars and champagne, Netanyahu operated on Milchan’s behalf on U.S. visa matters, tried to legislate a generous tax break for him and sought to promote his interests in the Israeli media market. Police have not commented on what Packer, who reportedly sought Israeli residency status for tax purposes, may have received, and Netanyahu has said all he received were gifts from friends. Longtime aide Ari Harow is a state witness in this case.
• MEDIA MEDDLING : Police have also recommended indicting Netanyahu for supposedly offering a newspaper publisher legislation that would weaken his paper’s main rival in return for more favorable coverage.
• Netanyahu reportedly was recorded asking Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the Yediot Ahronot daily, for positive coverage in exchange for helping to weaken Israel Hayom, a free pro-Netanyahu newspaper that had cut into Yediot’s business.
• Israel Hayom is financed by Netanyahu’s American billionaire friend Sheldon Adelson and largely serves as the prime minister’s mouthpiece. Netanyahu has noted that a proposed law to weaken Israel Hayom never passed and that he had even dissolved his coalition and called a new election in 2015 because of his opposition to the proposal. Harow is a state witness in this case, too.
• According to TV reports based on recently leaked police investigations, Adelson’s wife also testified that Sara Netanyahu exerted pressure on her to provide gifts and favorable media coverage.
• GERMAN SUBMARINES : Netanyahu was questioned, but not named as a suspect, in a probe related to a possible conflict of interest involving a $2 billion purchase of German submarines that implicated some of his closest associates.
• Netanyahu’s personal attorney David Shimron, who is also his cousin, represented the German firm involved and is suspected of using his influence over the prime minister in return for a hefty cut of the deal. But after seeming to escape this scandal, it was revealed that Netanyahu reportedly earned $4 million on a related German submarine sale to Egypt by owning shares in one of the German manufacturer’s suppliers.
• Netanyahu denies any financial wrongdoing regarding his investments in the Texas-based company Seadrift Coke steel factory, managed by another one of his cousins, Nathan Milikowsky. Seadrift was acquired by Ohio-based GrafTech International which was a supplier to German industrial group Thyssenkrupp. The German company later sold submarines to Israel and Egypt.
• Though Netanyahu is unlikely to be implicated in the case, some of his political opponents — such as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak — say it marks his most severe offense since his corruption allegedly touched on matters of national security.

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