Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a trial beginning this week on felony corruption charges.
According to the New York Times, Netanyahu is charged with bribery, breach of trust and fraud. He is accused of giving favors to wealthy businessmen in exchange for gifts such as cigars and Champagne and favorable coverage in some news outlets.
Netanyahu has said he is innocent.
The trial is expected to last about a year or longer, but if convicted, Netanyahu could face years in prison. Also, Netanyahu would have to resign his role.
Netanyahu is one of the few sitting national leaders who have stayed in their top role and faced trial. Historically, national leaders accused of such crimes have resigned.
“It’s a sign of strength,” Sima Kadmon, a political columnist at daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot, said in an interview. “In spite of everything, Benjamin Netanyahu is going on trial today.”
Meanwhile, others say the trial is a distraction from larger issues.
“It’s going to haunt the system,” said Prof. Shlomo Avineri, a political scientist at Hebrew University. “This is not what public discourse should be about. And this is going to continue for some time.”
Netanyahu has called the charges a “witch hunt” against him brought on by his political opponents.
On Sunday, he said the case was “an attempt to thwart the will of the people an attempt to bring me and the right down.
“They…
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