The twists and turns in the saga of the indictment sheet against former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are turning into a dilemma for the Likud-Yisrael Beytenu coalition: To keep Lieberman or spit him out? Lieberman was hoping his trial would end with a quick and light plea bargain and that he would join the next government as soon as it was sworn in. This hope is fading fast. First, because Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein will hesitate to hand him such a victory after closing the main case against him. Second, because journalist Baruch Kara of Channel 10 has pointed out that the investigation into Lieberman was flawed and incomplete. It now appears that the change in the indictment sheet will be miniscule. Members of the committee who appointed Ze'ev Ben Aryeh, the man who stymied the investigation against Lieberman, now feel threatened. After all, if it is true that they chose Ben Aryeh under pressure from Lieberman (which he denies), then they would be party to a crime of breach of trust. This is also the case for former Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Before he knew he had been ousted, he was interviewed by Geula Even on Channel 1 news, where he declared that everything to do with Ben Aryeh's appointment was strictly above board. After all, Ayalon was the committee's chairman and is aware of what took place under his auspices. If he has now told police that Lieberman exerted his influence, even just on Ayalon, then Ayalon now finds himself in a sticky situation. These circumstances will serve Lieberman when he makes the claim that Ayalon's latest testimony is staged and full of resentment toward his former boss because he was fired. No judge can take it at face value, if only because there is some doubt as to its validity. Except that the political repercussions of all this are not minor. Likud-Beytenu is a huge political bloc, the largest in Israel. Its voters are a mixed bag. It is impossible that many of them are not discomfited by the fact that the No. 2 man in their party has been accused of a felony the same felony of which Ehud Olmert was found guilty even if it is legally permissible for him to run for office at this time. At present, Lieberman, for the first time in his political career, is on the defensive. It is possible that even Yisrael Beytenu's support for him will be less unified. First, because he has been accused of a crime and second, because in a party as diverse as the Likud there is always a large number of voters who don't want to cover for him. The chances that Lieberman's trial will be over before the elections are decreasing, even vanishing. This also reduces his chances of soon returning to the government. At the same time, he is less likely to be able to exercise authority over members of Yisrael Beytenu than in the past. Lieberman's usefulness to Likud-Beytenu depends on him immediately retreating from all campaign activity as soon as the indictment sheet is presented in court. Let him take a three-week vacation in Moldova, and we will all be better off.
