Story here. In short, there are reports that Netanyahu made a deal with a newspaper for favorable coverage in exchange for reduced competition from a competing paper owned by a Netanyahu backer.
I think this would be illegal in the US – I assume also in Israel, if it turns out to be true. Any thoughts?
I’m against it!
Why do you hate Israel.
Netanyahu is at - at very best - sociopath, anything is possible.
Anyway, it was the Russians. Last week it was the Chinese and next week it’s North Korea, or Iran i.e the Axel of Evel Knival, etc.
Updating this thread:
**Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to be indicted on corruption charges, pending hearing **
A point an Israeli article I read yesterday made was – of all the corrupt things the public suspects him of having done, THIS is what he gets indicted over? It seems like that’s always how it goes, though – they finally nail crooks for some little mistake.
This guy has been the President or Prime Minister or whatever, of Israel, for what feels like my entire life…there’s no way in hell anyone hangs onto power that long without being corrupt as hell. Can’t say I’m in the least bit surprised about this, although I wonder if there will be any real consequences for him; there never seem to be, for these characters.
What are the chances Trump will try to pardon him?
har har yuk yuk
Witch hunt!
Well, at least that what the NPR piece I listened to this afternoon quoted Netanyahu as saying.
Hey, I guess he figures if it works for Trump…
A more literal translation is “hunting trip”, and the connotation is more like a snipe hunt than a witch hunt, if you know what I mean – it’s implying that they couldn’t find anything to saddle him with, so they’re really reaching for it.
We will definitely see what happend!
Here’s NPR’s coverage: Israel's Attorney General Moves To Indict Netanyahu On Corruption Charges : NPR
Possibly the closest American English idiom would be “fishing expedition”?
Oh, that’s actually perfect – מסע I would translate as “journey” or “expedition” over “trip”, so more like “hunting expedition” as a literal translation and “fishing expedition” to pretty perfectly captures the meaning.
Just how insulated is the Israeli AG from political pressure? Is this particular AG respected nationally? Could Bibi try to fire him?
I do find it fascinating that the US media chose to translate the phrase as “witch hunt”, probably to tie in with Trump. It’s not an unfair comparison, although while Netanyahu is far right for Israel, that doesn’t mean exactly the same thing that it does in the US. For example, Netanyahu takes a very strong stance against global warming.
I highly doubt Bibi could fire the AG – he’s surprised me before, though. And I may disagree with his politics, but I can’t deny that he plays the political game like a true champ. So who knows? Maybe he’ll survive this, too.