Knesset Speaker Edelstein in his chambers
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Edelstein: Rivlin within his rights to reject Azaria pardon
Knesset Speaker Edelstein comments on issues of public note, says President Rivlin within his rights to reject appeal for clemency from Elor Azaria; Okay to disagree with president, but incitement is out of line, Edelstein qualifies; on corruption investigations into affairs of PM, Bitan, Edelstein says they are innocent until proven guilty.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) backed President Reuven Rivlin's right to reject
last month a request to pardon former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted
of manslaughter earlier this year and imprisoned for shooting to death
a neutralized terrorist in March 2016.
"People from Likud could agree or not agree, but it was his right (to decide)," Edelstein said in an exclusive interview with Ynet.
Edelstein in his interview (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
"For me, he is the president of the state. Let them run for president and they can then choose other things and make other decisions, but it is the right of the president to say 'I don’t see a reason to reduce the punishment.'"
Asked about the smear campaign that ensued in the wake of Rivlin's decision, which many said spilled over into explicit incitement, Edelstein insisted that criticism was legitimate, but incitement had no place in Israeli society.
Edelstein said President Rivlin's decision to not pardon Azaria was his prerogative (Photo: Yariv Katz)
"What I thought, I said out loud. There is no place for incitement. It is okay to criticize the president. It is okay to not agree with his decisions, but between that and bringing in keffiyehs, calling him a fascist and accusing him of kissing the backsides of Palestinians, I don't want to repeat those things. They have no place," Edelstein said in reference to the online campaign launched against Rivlin after his decision on Azaria.
Edelstein (R) denounced incitement levied against the president (Photo: Yitzhak Harari, Knesset Spokesmanship)
Edelstein also discussed the thick blanket of corruption probes covering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, more recently, coalition chairman MK David Bitan as well.
"I don’t anyone feels at ease (with the allegations). Obviously, I hope nothing happened, but at the same time, it is worth remembering the cliché that every citizen is innocent until proven guilty in court, and that this also applies to elected officials," Edelstein noted.
At the same time, he also acknowledged the Likud party was now compelled to fumble its way out of the crisis that has befallen its upper ranks, and dragged the entire party into disrepute.
"We absolutely have to take these things into account and think together how we can get out of this situation," he admitted.
"In an ideal scenario, like I said, if everyone is totally clean and all suspicions are removed, then great. If not, I think that these things are in the hands of Likud members," adding that a Likud victory in the next elections remained a paramount goal.
Asked whether he believed that Netanyahu could continue to serve while facing an indictment as corruption investigations closed in, Edelstein dismissed the possibility as merely hypothetical.
Edelstein (R) said Netanyahu was innocent until proven guilty (Photo: Knesset Spokesmanship)
"I haven't heard an indictment has been filed against him. There are a lot of premature theoretical questions. Which indictment? What is written in it? It really depends on what will come of the hearing, it really depends on what the specifics are," he continued.
"To decide someone's fate on hypothetical questions and answers that are even more hypothetical, I don't think that’s proper."
Coalition Chairman Bitan may need to hand over the reins, Edelstein said (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Asked whether Bitan could continue serving as the coalition's chairman, the Knesset speaker said Bitan's position was "precarious, but developments must be examined here as well. If they wrap all investigations up within a few days' time and it all goes into a sort of stagnation and various checks, then he can remain in the role. David, who we love and wish the best, should either take the reins or hand them over to someone else."
"At the moment, however, I don't think he should do that just yet. He knows better than us all what his position is and he's the one who should make the decision," Edelstein opined.
