Behind Justice Minister’s Attack on Law Enforcement Lurks a Cornered Netanyahu

Posing as a justice warrior – Emile Zola, at least – the man called Israel’s “justice minister” stood before the media on Tuesday, and fired unfriendly fire at the senior prosecutors in his office. It was as if this empty suit, embedded into one of the government’s most sensitive ministerial posts to impose terror on those involved in the investigations into Netanyahu, had joined the protests in Petah Tikva near the attorney general’s home.

The protesters yelled, sometimes they cursed, and he gave his “J’accuse” through pursed lips accompanied by strange facial expressions. The goal was to deter and to scare, and to delegitimize any future decision by the prosecution and the attorney general.

We wouldn’t notice a major difference if the characters changed places: If Ohana were to be waving a sign in the square, and Ran Carmi Buzaglo, organizer of rallies for “Hebron shooter” Elor Azaria, were to be standing at the podium. The minister’s chatter was clichéd, shallow and simplistic, like the average right-wing online commenter. The quotes he cited were biased, partial and thoroughly analyzed on the social networks.

His disconnected thesis regarding the “prosecution within the prosecution” (the well-loved “deep state”) that is deviously planning, fabricating cases and destroying careers wholesale was seasoned with meaningful glances. As a reminder, this is a man who on his first day in the job “didn’t dismiss” the possibility that he too would be faced with a fabricated case, and stated from his lofty legal position that there’s no need to carry out every court ruling.

Ultimately, this is what we’ll remember of him: a pile of nonsense at the beginning of his term, and by the end, despicable verbal takedowns of the people he’s supposed to protect.

It’s obviously not news to say that Ohana is just the front man. A rag doll on a string. And his crazy show yesterday shouldn’t take our attention away from the central figure: Benjamin Netanyahu. The outgoing prime minister, who according to all the leaks will soon be facing trial for a string of criminal offenses, is now firing off what ammunition he has left in the fight for public opinion.

After his war on police investigators was decisively defeated – they faithfully completed their work – he is now activating his sophisticated machine of incitement against the state prosecutor and the attorney general. There is nothing to be deceived about after his faithful appearance. He’s in despair, he’s A-F-R-A-I-D, he understands that the end is closer than ever.