Benjamin Netanyahu has handled his share of scandals. But a new one involving his billionaire vacation buddy, who stands accused of fraud in France, threatens the Israeli prime minister's carefully crafted personal security dome. 

Back in 1999, after he lost the premiership to Ehud Barak, Netanyahu became embroiled in a humiliating police investigation. Together with his wife, he was suspected of failing to report hundreds of gifts he received when serving as prime minister and of charging the state budget for enormous private expenses.

The investigation grew and became an embarrassment. News cameras documented his trips to and from interrogation rooms and bore witness as his office was publicly searched. At the end of the investigation, the police recommended that he be indicted for corruption, a recommendation that was adopted by the state attorney. However, Elyakim Rubinstein, legal adviser to the government and attorney general, decided to close the case. Rubinstein took into account that Netanyahu had been defeated in the elections and had retired from political life, and decided it was not in the public interest to subject him to further scrutiny. Netanyahu was saved by the skin of his teeth.

That investigation must remain engraved on Netanyahu’s soul, a trauma that cannot be erased. When he returned to rule a decade later in 2009, Netanyahu took all possible means to prevent potential investigations. He appointed his former personal lawyer, Yehuda Weinstein, as legal adviser to the government, personally supervised the appointment of the state comptroller and less than a year ago personally appointed a new police chief.