Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, Wednesday
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Netanyahu was informed in the past that gifts must be declared
Analysis: The prime minister’s argument that ‘receiving gifts from friends is permitted’ fails to address the volume of the presents allegedly received by the Netanyahu family and fails to mention the restrictions which were clarified to Netanyahu in 2000 by the attorney general.
The argument presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, that “receiving gifts from friends is permitted,” fails to address the volume of the gifts allegedly received by the Netanyahu family – gifts that are said to be worth hundreds of thousands of shekels –
and fails to mention the restrictions that do exist on receiving gifts, restrictions which were clarified to Netanyahu in the past even before the “Amedi affair” came to an end.
The decision to close the investigation into the “Amedi affair” – which focused on suspicions that Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu illegally took gifts that Netanyahu had received during his first term as prime minister – was made in September 2000 after then-Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein reached the conclusion that there was no way to establish the claim that Netanyahu had been aware of the fact that he was committing an offense.
Despite their friendship, Milchan also runs a business in Israel which is related to the areas under Netanyahu’s responsibility (Photo: Getty Images)
Rubinstein, however, took the opportunity to explain to Netanyahu and his wife the rules on receiving gifts: An elected representative may receive low-value gifts – like a book, for example – without declaring them, but expensive presents received from a person who is not a member of the family are forbidden and must be declared to the Civil Service Commission or to the legal advisor of the Prime Minister’s Office, and even to the state comptroller.
The legal opinion also addressed gifts received in the person’s capacity as a civil servant, and that is presumably why Netanyahu is emphasizing his friendship with Arnon Milchan. Despite their friendship, however, Milchan also runs a business in Israel which is related to the areas under Netanyahu’s responsibility. That same legal opinion clarified that gifts are a problematic issue. According to Prime Minister’s Office procedures, every received gift must undergo a security check and a registration process at the office.
Netanyahu’s lawyer, attorney Jacob Weinroth, is not denying that Netanyahu received gifts on a large scale, but is arguing that those gifts were not given to Netanyahu in connection to his job, and that therefore no criminal offense was committed. Even if the value of the all the gifts adds up to hundreds of thousands of shekels, he says, they were given over many years and there is no offense involved.
