Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the ongoing corruption case against him as a "Bugs Bunny trial" in a video published on social media. In the video shared online late Thursday, Netanyahu held up a Bugs Bunny puppet, mocking prosecutors for allegedly citing a cartoon doll he received as a gift for his son 29 years ago as evidence against him. "From now on, this trial will be known as the Bugs Bunny trial," he declared.
The Prime Minister denounced the proceedings as a "political trial" designed to force him from office, reiterating his longstanding denial of any wrongdoing. The charges include two ridiculous cases in which Netanyahu allegedly negotiated favourable media coverage from Israeli news outlets, and a third involving accusations he accepted more than $260,000 in luxury gifts – including cigars, jewellery, and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours.
Netanyahu further dismissed the cigar gifts as presents "from a friend" and claimed his alleged attempts to secure favourable coverage from "a second-rate internet site" instead resulted in "the most hateful, antagonistic, negative press coverage you can imagine in Israel."
He is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial for corruption. The proceedings, which began in 2019, have recently required him to testify three times weekly -- a schedule he argues prevents him from effectively governing. "This farce is costing the country dearly," he said. "I can't deal with that..."
Commenting on Netanyahu's video, the president of the Jewish Community of Porto, Gabriel Senderowicz, says that "the world has gone mad – and Israel is not escaping this madness. Judaism teaches that corruption is not puppets and cigars, but dishonesty in public affairs to the point of harming the country. What is beginning to happen now is that the justice system is so politicized that it is itself a perverse source of state corruption."
Senderowicz stated that "we have already seen state corruption in action in Portugal a few years ago, a system of permanent trafficking of favors between corrupt politicians, corrupt newspapers and a corrupt justice system. It is important that the names of all the corrupt be preserved for History, even when they all descend into their useless graves. They did nothing useful in life, and eternity will keep their names as the corrupt individuals they truly were. May Netanyhau do the same with prosecutors in love with dolls and cigarettes!"
