As a young man, Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu served with courage as a member of Israel’s most elite special forces unit. Indicted on Thursday in three separate corruption cases, Netanyahu must rediscover that courage now and step down.
Facing an array of foreign threats and domestic political deadlock, Israel needs a prime minister who can unify the nation and move toward addressing its challenges. It’s clear that Netanyahu is no longer that leader. He’s already failed twice now to form a government that can command the confidence of the Knesset. And Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s charge sheet on Thursday only consolidates Netanyahu’s woes. The most problematic of these involves a charge that Netanyahu was bribed by a telecommunications executive to make regulatory decisions in his favor. The allegation is thus one of crystal clear political corruption.
