With the investigations into his affairs intensifying, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to organize a huge rally in support of himself. He wanted to remind everyone that he still has huge numbers of people behind him. On the evening of Aug. 9, he got what he wanted when he stood before thousands of supporters at the Tel Aviv Convention Center. Yet, even as he stood there, he could not hide his weakness or the pressure he feels as the various interrogations threaten to close in on him.
Netanyahu in the summer of 2017 is a prime minister fighting for his political future, while at the same time engaged in a long and Sisyphean legal struggle that is only just beginning. This is not the same confident Netanyahu of just last year, who offered a show of power in closed talks with journalists from all the major media outlets, treating them to long, decisive monologues on his views about the economy and security issues, his struggles with the left-wing media and his plans for the future.
While all of that was going on, there was already talk of secret investigations into his dealings. Within just a few months, the public learned about the severe allegations surrounding Case 1000 (the gifts Netanyahu allegedly received from wealthy businessmen), Case 2000 (his conversations with the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, Arnon Mozes, for a deal of positive coverage) and Case 3000 (the purchase of submarines from Germany; although he is not a suspect in the case, his personal lawyer and cousin David Shimron is). Over the last six months, and especially in the last week, it seemed as if the noose was getting tighter, when another close confidant, his former Chief of Staff Ari Harow, became a state witness against him.
Until the investigations are over and the attorney general decides whether to indict him, Netanyahu can expect to face a longtime trudging through various legal and police issues. He will be called repeatedly to interrogations under warning, and the public will slowly learn about the additional evidence against him.
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