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Why Netanyahu’s hearing should be streamed live

Maximum transparency, even such exceptional measures as filming the pre-indictment hearing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could help restore trust in the legal system.
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Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had a scathing response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request that the hearing in his criminal cases be broadcast live, calling the idea “futile.” He was right in taking Netanyahu’s request as little more than a message of defiance for the media's benefit. Putting that aside, however, it could be in the attorney general’s interest to conduct the legal process against the prime minister with maximum transparency.

Netanyahu explained his reasoning in a video posted as he made his request. “After three years of a deluge of biased, partial leaks, the time has come for the public to hear everything, including my side, in a complete and full manner. … Not only do I have nothing to hide, I want everything to be heard,” he said, adding that a live broadcast was “how we can ensure justice and truth.”

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