On one side of the Atlantic was a packed conference hall, where 18,000 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) delegates cheered on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. On the other side of the ocean was the crammed police interrogation room of the Lahav 433 unit in Lod. The distance between them on March 6 had never been greater.
Having met with President Donald Trump at the White House on March 5, the following day Netanyahu addressed AIPAC’s annual conference. He put on his usual show, exhilarating the delegates, who frequently burst into tumultuous rounds of applause. Meanwhile, at the nerve center of the Israel Police Investigations Unit, a string of state's witnesses tighten around the prime minister. So far, three of the people closest to Netanyahu have signed agreements with the police and the Attorney General’s Office to testify against their former boss in exchange for reduced sentences. Nothing this big has ever happened in Israel.