The Israeli prime minister's office functioned like a war room on Nov. 17, as it attempted to stop the steady release of new information about the "submarine affair." The scandal, which broke two days earlier, revolves around the purchase of submarines from Germany. As Channel 10 journalist Raviv Drucker discovered, the lawyer representing the German shipbuilding firm in the deal also happens to be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal attorney David Shimron. Coverage of the scandal intensified when it was revealed that former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon opposed the purchase of the submarines last February.
Then an ally popped up for Netanyahu from an unlikely direction. While Netanyahu's team did everything they could to find spokespersons to hold back the media tsunami, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman volunteered to defend the prime minister's decision to go through with the deal. As guest of honor at a conference in Ashdod, Liberman was asked where he stood on the issue. He answered, "I supported the submarine purchase in every position I held, whether I was foreign minister or a member of the opposition. Specifically, and I am speaking solely from the perspective of the country's defense requirements, it is the right decision. I supported it then and continue to support it now. All the rest is gossip."
