Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took jabs at state witness Hadas Klein, discrediting what she said in her own testimony, during a charged criminal trial hearing in the cases against him in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday.
In Case 1000, or the “Illegal Gifts” affair, Netanyahu is on trial for advancing legislation favorable to his former friend-turned state's witness – Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan – while receiving gifts from him in the form of cigars and champagne, worth thousands of shekels.
Klein was Milchan’s personal assistant. Asked by lead defense attorney Amit Hadad if he had Klein bring him cigars from Cuba, he said, “Absolutely not, this is a complete lie.”
At the start of his testimony, he charged that she “hates me, she drove us off a cliff, and is leading the anti-government protests against me,” falling back on an oft-repeated claim of a political witch hunt. He called her a “hostile witness.”
Hadad noted a discrepancy between Klein's statements in her interrogation and her testimony, in a not-so-veiled attempt to call into question her trustworthiness as a witness.
Netanyahu said he had no expectation that she would buy him cigars, and gave no hint of the sort to her.
He further targeted the prosecution's argument that cigars were a regular request and purchase by him, saying that “so many politicians smoke cigars, and so many got boxes from Milchan.”
Klein's claim of a “supply chain was truly a theory she made up,” he said.
He added that these days, he still smokes cigars, “and I finance this from my own pocket – just like I did when Milchan would gift them to me… for cigars, I don't need friends.”
Another figure that allegedly gave Netanyahu gifts like Milchan did is Australian billionaire James Packer, another close friend who he said was “generous.” Klein was his personal assistant as well. Packer owned an apartment in Tel Aviv, one which was occupied at times by Yair Netanyahu.
Asked about it on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he learned of this situation from the media. “He is an independent person. It's not a crime,” he said.
Gotliv interrupts courtroom
During the testimony, Likud MK Tally Gotliv entered the courtroom.
During court hearings, anyone in the crowd, civilians and journalists, are forbidden from speaking out loud. After several outbursts from Gotliv, including pertaining to the questioning, Lead Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman said, “Welcome to the courtroom; during the hearing, nobody but the lawyers and judges are allowed to speak.”
Gotliv responded, “You can take me out by force, it's fine.”
Friedman-Feldman responded, “You know the rules.” Gotliv is a licensed attorney.
When Hadad asked about Klein's claim that Sara Netanyahu “screams all the time,” Netanyahu said he also raises his own voice inside the courtroom at times, but nothing beyond that.
Gotliv said from the audience, “No one is screaming in this courtroom.” Netanyahu snapped back, “I am capable of reflecting that to the court on my own.” He added that he never heard his wife yell at Milchan nor at Klein.
During a break in the hearing, bereaved father Itzik Bonzel, who was vocal during the High Court of Justice hearing on the legality of the firing of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head earlier this month, raged against the situation and called on Netanyahu to appoint a new chief.
At the High Court hearing, Bonzel decried the whole process, arguing that if Bar said he would resign, he should do so out of a sense of responsibility, and debating the legality of his hiring is a slap in the face to bereaved families. Bar announced late Monday night that his resignation date will be June 15, putting an end to what has been an unprecedented political and societal storm, but also raises questions as to what comes next.
Netanyahu told him on Tuesday, “I am busy here at the moment.” Bonzel responded, “You're dealing here with the question of whether you carried or didn't carry a box of champagne.” Netanyahu said, “Everything can be done [simultaneously].”
Bonzel said, “On the eve of Remembrance Day, only I know what you're going through. This trial is preventing you from preparing for this holy day. The new intelligence chief appointment can't wait until June – there are more urgent matters to attend to.”
Several bereaved families demanded, in a request filed to the High Court of Justice on Tuesday, to allow the government to appoint a new intelligence chief as soon as possible. They argued that the legal process ran its course as soon as Bar set the date, and demanded that the process be terminated.
