The prosecution’s questioning of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Case 1000 is set to terminate on Monday, the next scheduled hearing, the prosecution told Jerusalem District Court Judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am and Oded Shaham, who are overseeing the case where it is being heard at the Tel Aviv District Court, on Wednesday.
Case 1000 focuses on the reception by Netanyahu of luxury gifts, including cigars and champagne, from businessman Arnon Milchan. The proceedings center on whether these gifts constitute corruption or were simply personal gestures, as Netanyahu was in a position to allegedly advance legislation that would’ve been beneficial to his friend.
Once the Case 1000 questions are done, the prosecution will move to cross-examining the prime minister on Cases 2000 and 4000, altogether including charges against him of bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust. Netanyahu was indicted in 2020, and the trial began; he has pleaded not guilty.
One of the pillars of the case is the testimony of Hadas Klein, who was Milchan’s personal assistant, and relayed in her testimony that the gifts were requested by the prime minister, bolstering the claim of exceptional treatment. When Tadmor presented the information provided by her testimony to Netanyahu on Wednesday, the prime minister said, “her testimony is ridiculous.”
Tadmor queried the prime minister about allegations that the requests for the gifts, specifically the champagne, came from his wife, Sara. Netanyahu said he didn’t recall, and downplayed the significance. “You’d have to comb through every bottle opened and thrown out, it’s absurd. And, either way, it had nothing to do with me,” he told Tadmor.
He later insisted that the nature of the relationship between his wife and Milchan was that of a deep friendship - in the context of what the indictment describes as a gift that Netanyahu received, from Milchan, for Sara, on the occasion of her birthday.
The gift, a jewelry item, was worth about 10,000 shekels; Tadmor pressed the prime minister on what he had told police interrogators at the time, that he had no recollection of the gift. Netanyahu responded, “I’m not stupid. If I would’ve remembered it in the moment, of course I would’ve said it… In the cascade of things that I need to deal with, I simply did not remember.”
Tadmor tried to show that Netanyahu wasn’t completely honest in his police interrogation.
Netanyahu attempted to reinforce the narrative that the gifts were not exceptional
“I know that he [Milchan] liked both champagne and tequila… He drank champagne whenever it was possible, in meetings, at meals,” said Netanyahu, in an attempt to reinforce the narrative that the gifts were not exceptional - and so definitely weren’t significant enough to affect him in his position of power - but were rather part of a regular routine.
Tadmor presented Netanyahu with testimony from Milchan himself, that he drank two bottles of champagne at most, per week. Netanyahu shrugged it off, saying, “I have no idea why he said that.”
Transportation Minister Miri Regev arrived at the start of the hearing, after Education Minister Yoav Kitsch arrived on Tuesday.