Took cigars? Took them where?
Oh Israel, when will you learn? When it comes to cigar scandals, our "Kung Fu" is stronger! LMAO...
Posted on 02/15/2018 2:04:42 AM PST by Eleutheria5
The Netanyahu government is at risk of being toppled – over what? He took cigars?
I know it may be more than that, but not much more through American eyes.
He (allegedly) accepted gifts, those cigars and other things, and for that Israel, we are told, may lose the best leader it’s had in decades.
The headlines read “Police call for PM Netanyahu to be indicted.” That is serious. In Israel. Not in America. In America we know a thing or two about scandals.
At the moment we’re dealing with nothing else…all of it brought about by the Left, working at a dizzying pace to bring down Donald Trump.
Netanyahu faces the same frenzy in Israel, also from the Left, and this time they think they’ve got him – while in America we laugh at the charges.
We find Israel’s scandals against Netanyahu…well…small-time…bush-league…amateur city.
On scandals, you are playing with the big boys. Nice try. But the Israeli Left still hasn’t grown up, not enough to play in the majors, as we do.
Come on, this is not Watergate. This is cigar-gate. That is barely worth a headline -- though The New York Times, dancing as they wrote this, kvelled azoy, or like this – “Netanyahu should face graft charges, Israeli police say.” Yes, this is a story tailor-made for the Left, for whom Trump and Netanyahu can always expect nasty coverage.
That for both the evidence is scant to silly to non-existent, makes no difference to the Left. All they need is a scent to keep them in business.
.....
What else?
Did Netanyahu botch a sting operation – Fast and Furious, it’s been tagged....
.....
(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
One thing is clear: If the Israeli left gets control again, there won’t be anything left of Israel.
But this is all they got. It’s like trying to impeach Vice President Nixon over that little dog Checkers.
Anyway, if Bibi’s all the right has got, we’re in deep trouble. I’m for Naftali Bennet.
Took cigars? Took them where?
Oh Israel, when will you learn? When it comes to cigar scandals, our "Kung Fu" is stronger! LMAO...
I see the, "it's just sex" folks are hard at work on behalf of Bibi.
If the police say he should be indicted I seriously doubt it's just that he took cigars but since I gather that the AG who Bibi appointed will make the final decision, I feel sure the side pumping the only cigars meme will prevail.
I’ve already made plain my feelings, and also he’s been around too long. Can’t speak for others.
And if head cop Comey said Hillary should not be charged, then I guess that’s that./s
The “police” means the head cop, a politico, not every man and woman in uniform with their caps on their hearts standing at attention.
The higher the politico rises the less likely they are to be "standing with their uniform on and with their caps on their hearts" so whether or not the police recommending the charges are political or not doesn't change a thing.
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It's hard to reconcile cigars for Bibi and champagne with the $300,000 number being thrown around. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Related threads
I think pretty much every PM in Israel back to Peres and Rabin have been accused of some sort of wrongdoing at some point.
Not since Monica...
“If the police say he should be indicted I seriously doubt it’s just that he took cigars”
I take it you have had the time to carefully study all the evidence the police have?
I’ll bet Bibi didn’t do unto the cigars as Bill Clinton did to his!
The idea of ruining a perfectly good cigar in such a disgusting manner is appalling. Don’t some of them have metal cases?
When I read about the cigars I laughed. That part of this “scandal” is so absurd. Does the PM not have the right to have friends, to share meals and be offered a stogie and a couple glasses of wine etc?
But just being honest with myself, I also know that part of the story is being managed by Bibi allies. I am a big fan of Bibi, always have. And I have not read or seen anything that reads like a smoking gun. But the stories do say “accepted gifts” and this is more than just cigars. I admit, I have no idea what these gifts are - rides in airplanes? Artwork? Again, the PM should have the right to have friends and be given birthday gifts or thoughtful gifts from friends and family provided of course it is not a bribe, not ridiculously extravagant especially if it is from people doing business with or needing things from the government. What is the value of all of it?
One way to judge is to put in all in perspective. What is the value of all gifts, over what period of time, how much of these gifts as a percentage of his personal wealth, who gave them and what they may have wanted in return if anything, and how does all this compare to what he may have potentially done if he were really intending to be corrupt. I would think Bibi, having been PM many times over decades could have finagled many millions of dollars over the years if he were a corrupt person. I don’t see or hear anything resembling that kind of scale. So my gut tells me this probably does not rise to the level of intentional criminality.
The other charge about him conspiring to damage one of the newspapers I know less about, I know nothing of his involvement or what he is accused of actually doing that would be criminal or corrupt. Trump goes on TV and attacks CNN, NYT, WP, for example.
Interesting, I said similar comments. These kinds of “scandals” are always being managed by the many sides. I admit I have not done much digging into the story though and I suspect the charge of corruption is probably stretching. He may have accepted some various gifts but in such a case intent matters, the people involved matter, the value and the appearance of presence of quid pro quo all matter. He’s been PM for a long time now, and was PM before. PM should be entitled to a life, friendship, social life, camaraderie etc. Not excusing or defending anything in particular but if there was something major here I think that would have also been ‘managed’ by his opponents. Yes Bibi’s defenders talk cigars. But if he took a major bribe his detractors would be hitting on it directly “he took X” and the cigar story would get less play. So far they have not made it exactly clear what he took or its worth or why he took it or what he gave in return... which makes me suspect the charge is weak or circumstantial.
I am not a big fan of Bibi. He’s bulldozed, through his surrogates, homes of my friends. But this story is trumped up BS, it seems.
Someone from another field coming in (not all lawyers), serving a term, two or even three if they're short terms like our House, then leaving is what works. A permanent political class breeds graft and corruption. Always has and always will, it's the equivalent of the very Titles of Nobility our Constitution explicitly outlaws
The links between Netanyahu and Kushner are the only reason I'm even a little suspect of the charges against him but at this point, I'm not suspect enough of the charges to dismiss them outright the way most people do. I doubt there will be an indictment so it's a tempest in a teapot anyway.
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