Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, appeared last week at Jerusalem District Court for the cross examination of the state’s key witness against him — Shlomo Filber.

Since his trial began in May 2020, Netanyahu has rarely appeared in court, but once Filber took the stand, he has made it a point to be present on occasion for the testimony of his former close aide, which is crucial to the state’s case. The state alleges that Netanyahu appointed Filber in June 2015 to head the Ministry of Communications so that Netanyahu would approve regulatory benefits for Shaul Elovitch, owner of the Bezeq telecommunications group and Walla news site, in return for favorable coverage of himself and his wife.

On May 11, Netanyahu sat in the small courtroom staring at Filber just meters away. Filber has made it clear in his testimony so far that he continues to hold Netanyahu in high esteem as one of Israel’s greatest leaders. That did not prevent him from turning a state’s witness and describing to police and securities regulators how Netanyahu instructed him to favor the media tycoon, anchoring the state’s contention that the former prime minister allegedly did so in order to ensure flattering coverage by the popular Walla site, in essence accepting a bribe from Elovitch. 

According to Filber, Netanyahu gave his allegedly criminal instruction at a meeting during Filber’s first week in office in June 2015. But last week, in a glancing blow to the prosecution, the defense team showed that no such meeting took place that week in June 2015 — based on phone tracking data and scheduling entries. The dramatic finding undoubtedly dented the nub of the state’s case and has prompted wild rejoicing by the pro-Netanyahu camp.