By Amiel Ungar, Jerusalem Post—-
Maybe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can tough it out over the post-election maneuverings and both head off another do-over election and entice Blue and White into a unity government.
But even if that were to happen, Netanyahu would still be headed for his last rodeo. He would retain the premiership under the terms of President Reuven Rivlin’s parameters, meaning a rotation in office with Blue and White leader Benny Ganz, and take a leave of absence although not leave of the Prime Minister’s Residence in case he is indicted on one of the charges that have been leveled against him.
In either case, his long interrupted tenure is at an end, and a succession crisis in the Israeli nationalist camp has begun.
There is an element of unfairness. I do not believe that preparation for a post-Netanyahu succession is warranted by Netanyahu’s “corruption.”
Netanyahu is perhaps a hedonist compared with the ascetic Menachem Begin or Yitzhak Shamir. On the other hand, had he been a private citizen he would have cleaned up far more in lecture fees in one year than that great moralist Ehud Barak gained in his undisclosed “research” for Jeffrey Epstein. Political leaders worldwide attract rich patrons who want to bask in the aura of power. The Clintons turned the White House into a bed and breakfast for wealthy donors.
The American Constitution’s definition of an impeachable offense as high crimes and misdemeanors should remain the criterion for chucking a leader out of office. Netanyahu’s peccadilloes do not approach this yardstick, but it is hard to see the police and prosecution after investing so much in resources and institutional prestige in pressing the case against Netanyahu to relinquish their quarry and drop the charges. This would create a crisis of mammoth proportions that would be eclipsed only by a Netanyahu acquittal.
Nor is the Blue and White veto of Netanyahu legitimate. Those who trumpet the rule of law should not – when it is convenient – claim that the law is an ass. Israeli law states that a prime minister as opposed to a cabinet minister must leave office only upon conviction. Blue and White is held together purely by antipathy for Netanyahu. Continue Reading….
