Netanyahu's trial: Tadmor probes prime minister's relationship with Milchan

Netanyahu insisted that he and Milchan were truly personal friends who became very close very fast, and that it was unlike what Tadmor presented as the friendships Milchan had all around with other politicians, including with Shimon Peres and with Sharon.

Netanyahu said that he saw the famous interview that Milchan gave Channel 12’s Uvda investigative team in 2013, but said on Wednesday that he didn’t remember the exact date. 

Tadmor presented a portion of that interview where Milchan calls many politicians “friends,” and asked Netanyahu to explain it. Netanayhu said that when Milchan says “friend,” it has to be taken with a grain of salt, but that some friendships were different, including his own. 

Tadmor noted that in Netanyahu’s interrogations, he didn’t list any of the hotels that he said on Wednesday he had stayed in at Milchan’s recommendation. “All of this was terminated as soon as I reentered politics,” Netanyahu said. 

Tadmor asked him to clarify why. Netanyahu responded, “There are things that are allowed and things that are correct. The state was sponsoring any stays I had overseas - why would I turn to Milchan?” 

Tadmor noted that in Netanyahu’s interrogations, he didn’t list any of the hotels that he said on Wednesday he had stayed in at Milchan’s recommendation. “All of this was terminated as soon as I reentered politics,” Netanyahu said. 

Tadmor asked him to clarify why. Netanyahu responded, “There are things that are allowed and things that are correct. The state was sponsoring any stays I had overseas - why would I turn to Milchan?”

The judges announced after a break that they decided to allow the presentation of materials collected in the case but not presented yet for the prosecution to question Netanyahu on - starting next week. 

Tadmor presented a series of photographs showing Netanyahu on several different occasions  spanning the years with the Milchan couple, as well as of the two families.

“This was, clearly, when I was in the opposition,” Netanyahu said. Tadmor insisted that it wasn’t about whether he was in the opposition or not, but whether he was a significant political player.

Tadmor referenced Netanyahu’s testimonies from two months ago, where he referenced a dinner with Milchan at the Turkiz restaurant, where Milchan brought him a cigar. Tadmor asked him to specify if this was the first clear cigar gifting he remembers. 

The prime minister, in a long-winded answer, said he did not remember specifics. He insisted though that the Turkiz dinner included no cigars, and was “purely a friendship connection,” but that he has no specific recollection. 

“Milchan gave me cigars all the time, but I don’t remember the specifics. The three years that I wasn’t prime minister were years when these gifts - cigars for me and champagne for Sara - were constant. These meetings were mostly abroad and were paid for by him, but also took place in Israel,” he said. 

Tadmor asked Netanyahu to specify how all of his trips abroad coincided with his schedule at the time - speaking tours and such. “I certainly hid nothing,” Netanyahu noted. 

“This whole narrative line is absurd, suggesting that I didn’t meet with Milchan at all between the years 1999 and 2002,” Netanyahu said. 

Tadmor responded, “The way in which you describe your closeness and the development of your friendship doesn’t reflect reality.” 

Netanyahu responded, “The opposite is true: We had a true and real friendship right off the bat, a friendship that bled into our family relations as well.”

Netanyahu insisted that he was down bad from 2006 to 2009, and that his friendship with Milchan stayed even stronger throughout this period and these “intense political losses.” 

Netanyahu moved to an attacking position after this point, accusing Tadmor pushing a specific narrative that doesn’t exist. 

Overall, the judges had less patience on the second day of cross-examination for all of the objections from the defense, pushing for the questioning to move along. 

Tadmor asked to present a poll from the time showing that Ehud Olmert’s party, Kadima, was sinking. Olmert won the elections in 2006 and was prime minister until 2009. 

Tadmor focused next on the 2006 time period. In late 2005, Netanyahu was elected as opposition head, a position he served in until 2009. Tadmor proposed that being an opposition head is not a “political carcass,” and that he had indeed planned his return to politics.

“My understanding at the time, at least during those first two years, was that my political life span was over. It took time for that to change,” he explained.