Outrageous, if not criminal
The "Bibi Tours" mystery that was first brought to light about five years ago by journalist Raviv Drucker must be resolved, and soon.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attorney, David Shimron, said that State Comptroller Yosef Shapira's report demonstrates that Netanyahu, then finance minister, did not double-bill his travel expenses (as did former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the "Rishon Tours" affair). At this stage, he is indeed owed the presumption of innocence, especially after former Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein determined that the Netanyahu family was not guilty of criminal conduct and closed the case.
But there are significant issues that stand out against Shimron's stance: First, Shapira wrote to Weinstein twice in 2015, explaining that he had additional materials indicating the suspicion of criminal conduct and that the case should be reopened and reviewed. Weinstein dragged his feet, as he did too before closing the cases of former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman. For better or for worse, Weinstein tended to prefer closing cases.
In this context, it's worth considering Drucker's remarks, as he followed the investigation's development. After all, Shapira is not perfect either. According to Drucker's assessment, Shapira also dragged his feet from 2012 until recently. In passing the material that raised suspicion of criminal conduct on to Weinstein, he rid himself of his duty to the public to include it in the report released on Tuesday.
The core issue here is most important. If these criminal suspicions turn into real charges, then they must be dealt with without fear or favor. However, if no crimes were committed, there is still the issue of inappropriate behavior on the part of a finance minister and opposition leader, who even then was aspiring to the role of prime minister. A minister may travel abroad under certain circumstances, and if those circumstances allow him to bring his family members, that's great. And if not, he must pay for them out of pocket. None of these payments should be made as loans from those working under him that are later repaid in cash.
When the first "Bibi Tours" article was published in 2011, I said on Israel Radio reporter Ayala Hasson's program that this was "outrageous" behavior, and I also wrote as much in Israel Hayom. The prime minister spoke to me from Russia, where he was working, and time passed as usual. I must still repeat two things: This behavior was outrageous and inappropriate, though I hope for Netanyahu that it did not involve criminal conduct.
In order to clear the air, the complaint by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel must be addressed and this matter must be thoroughly reviewed. Not just thoroughly, but immediately.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו