[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 100 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WITCH HUNT IN ISRAEL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 28, 2020

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, just mere days after 
being sworn into office for a fifth term as Prime Minister, Benjamin 
Netanyahu stood in an Israeli court to stand trial in what amounts to 
nothing more than a political witch hunt. Formally charged with 
bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, Prime Minister has denied all 
wrongdoing from the very outset and has called for an open, televised 
trial so that the entire world can stand witness to the circus the 
Israeli left has put together with the sole intention of humiliating 
Israel's longest serving premier in the hopes that he will step down.
  One of the charges in the criminal case against Prime Minister 
Netanyahu, known as ``case 4000,'' alleges unsubstantiated charges. The 
distinguished lawyer and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz perhaps 
described it best when he said, ``Netanyahu's trial poses great danger 
to democracy and the rule of law. This is the first time in the history 
of any modern country that a man is being prosecuted for trying to gain 
positive media coverage.''
  As we watch this farce play out, we should also remember that a 
criminal trial of a sitting head of state is a situation that could 
only take place in the Middle East's sole democracy. At the same time, 
the partisan nature of the charges and the trial cheapen the value of 
Israel's democratic and legalistic spirt. Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin 
commented that ``the day of the opening of Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu's trial will be remembered as one of the low points of the 
Israeli legal system.'' Levin went on to say, ``The charges against the 
prime minister are unprecedented in Western democracies. Their realm, 
if at all, should have been the ethical and noncriminal sphere, and 
it's no wonder why the world's top jurists have been harshly 
criticizing it.''
  Indeed, the sham trial against Netanyahu comes at especially ironic 
times as the Prime Minister won the highest number of votes of any 
party since the establishment of the Israel state. This mandate from 
the Israeli electorate was a personal expression of confidence in the 
Prime Minister as well as a clear sign that the Israeli public has lost 
all trust in a judicial system rigged along party lines to force the 
hand of a popular leader and push him out of the political system.
  Knesset Speaker Levin concluded his comments on the matter by saying, 
``I, like millions of Israeli citizens, stand with the prime minister 
today. With the truth. With justice.'' May the truth come to light and 
may justice prevail.
  The similarity with America is obvious that political enemies of 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are abusing the legal system just as 
the false efforts to impeach President Donald Trump were a witch hunt. 
Forces who lose on issues at the ballot box seek to subvert the votes 
of citizens.

                          ____________________