JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to enter Jerusalem's district court today for arraignment on a series of corruption charges.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases. He is accused of accepting expensive gifts, such as cartons of champagne and cigars, from wealthy friends and offering favors to media moguls in exchange for favorable news coverage of him and his family.
In the most serious case, he is accused of promoting legislation that delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of profits to the owner of a major telecommunications company while wielding behind-the-scenes editorial influence over the firm's popular news website.
Netanyahu has denied the charges, saying he is the victim of an "attempted coup" by overaggressive police, biased prosecutors and a hostile media.
"It's the classic deep state argument," said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Israel's Hebrew University. Netanyahu argues that "an unelected movement is trying to remove him from power just because he is a representative of the right," she said.
Netanyahu is not the first Israeli leader to go on trial. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former President Moshe Katsav went to prison -- Olmert on corruption charges and Katsav for rape. But they stepped down to fight the charges.
As opposition leader in 2008, Netanyahu led the calls for Olmert to leave office, saying a leader "up to his neck" in legal troubles had no business governing a country.
But as the investigations have piled up, culminating with his indictment in November, Netanyahu has changed his tune. He has rejected calls to resign while repeatedly lashing out at the country's legal system.
The case is expected to last for several years, given the vast number of witnesses and documents that are expected to be presented.
Last week, judges rejected Netanyahu's request to stay home today and allow his lawyers to represent him. Netanyahu had argued that his presence was unnecessary and costly, and that having his security detail in the courtroom would violate social-distancing requirements.
After three bruising elections over the past year, Netanyahu was sworn into office last week for a fourth consecutive term.
The Supreme Court cleared the way for Netanyahu to remain in power. In a key ruling, it said an indicted politician may serve as prime minister -- even though Israeli law requires all other officeholders to resign if charged with crimes.
A Section on 05/24/2020