The accusation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a criminal has been repeated as a political weapon so often that many forget to ask the simplest democratic question: Is it true? And, more importantly: What does it mean for a democracy when political rivals attempt to remove an elected leader through legal warfare rather than through the ballot box?
In an age where judgment is shaped by headlines more than evidence, we must return to truth with moral clarity.
The reality is far simpler than the slogans: Benjamin Netanyahu is not a criminal. He is a complicated, ambitious, relentless leader, like every leader in every democracy, but he has neither betrayed his country nor committed the kind of corruption that stains governments across the world. What is happening to him belongs to a much broader global trend: when political forces cannot defeat a leader democratically, they turn to courts and media to do the work that elections could not.
History teaches that perfection is not the measure of leadership. The Torah never hides the flaws of our greatest figures. Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest leader in the history of humanity, made mistakes. King David, the eternal symbol of Jewish sovereignty, struggled with moral challenges. Our prophets confronted kings, judges, and entire societies.
Jewish tradition teaches that leadership is human and humans are imperfect. Leadership is not about being flawless; it is about purpose, courage, loyalty to one’s people, and moral responsibility.
MEASURED AGAINST global political standards, Netanyahu stands out as one of the cleanest leaders in public life today.
The charges against him for cigars, champagne, and interactions with media owners would not be considered crimes in the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, or any major democracy.
No Western country has ever criminalized such behavior. Compare this with world leaders: French presidents Sarkozy and Chirac faced major corruption scandals; Italy’s Berlusconi spent decades in court; US presidents faced investigations of far greater magnitude. African and Middle Eastern leaders have confronted accusations on a scale unimaginable in Israel.
Against this global reality, calling Netanyahu a criminal is simply inaccurate. Even Israel’s former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit, who initiated the charges, admitted they sit “on the margins of criminal law.”
Most democracies would treat them as ethical questions, not as indictments. Still, the pressure to delegitimize Netanyahu has never been about cigars. It was about politics.
For nearly two decades, Israel’s left-wing parties have struggled to win elections. Israel’s demography, security concerns, and cultural identity have shifted toward the Right. Many Israelis believe, rightly or wrongly, that the Right is better prepared to defend the country against Iran, terrorism, diplomatic isolation, and global bias.
When a political movement cannot win at the ballot box, it is tempted to fight on other fronts: courts, media campaigns, and protests. This is not uniquely Israeli; it is happening in democracies everywhere. Politics becomes legal warfare, not persuasion.
Yet, despite this relentless pressure, the Israeli public continues to support Netanyahu, not because they believe that he is perfect, but because they believe he is strong, experienced, and capable of navigating Israel through unprecedented danger.
People vote based on the reality they live in, not the rhetoric they hear. The reality Israelis face is a world where moral clarity is rare, threats are real, and leadership cannot be theoretical.
My own research underscores this deep public sentiment. In recent years, I personally interviewed 2,800 Ethiopian Israeli citizens of voting age. Every single one unreservedly expressed their preference for Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s next prime minister.
This unanimity is not blind loyalty. It is the result of lived experience. Ethiopian Jews, like many Mizrahi communities, understand vulnerability, danger, and the importance of strong leadership. They fled persecution, walked through deserts, and risked their lives to return home to Zion.
They know what moral responsibility looks like. They see in Netanyahu not a perfect man, but a protector of the Jewish people. Their overwhelming support carries profound moral weight.
RABBI JONATHAN SACKS, of blessed memory, whom I consider one of the greatest moral thinkers of our era, taught something essential for this moment: “When politics becomes a battle between good and evil, not Right and Left, democracy dies.”
He warned repeatedly against turning political disagreements into moral crusades that demonize opponents. He insisted that leaders are judged not by their perfection but by their service, courage, and ability to widen the circle of human dignity.
Rabbi Sacks urged us to resist the politics of hatred, to elevate public debate, and to treat opponents as people, not enemies. His wisdom is urgently needed now. If we applied Rabbi Sacks’s principles to today’s climate, much of the rage directed at Netanyahu would dissolve immediately.
The assumption that disagreeing with the prime minister politically is equivalent to branding him immoral is exactly the kind of destructive thinking Rabbi Sacks cautioned against.
He reminded us that democracy depends on humility, the humility to accept that others may choose differently, that the majority has the right to decide, and that leaders must be challenged but never dehumanized.
Oppose the politician, not their voters
Netanyahu’s critics have every right to oppose his policies. However, they do not have the right to treat his voters, millions of them, as if their democratic choices are illegitimate. They do not have the right to weaponize the justice system for political revenge.
They also lack the right to fracture the unity of the Jewish state at a moment of existential peril. The world’s most dangerous enemies – Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah – do not care about cigars or gifts. They care only about destroying Israel.
In this moment of profound global instability, Israel needs strength, stability, and unity, not endless political warfare. Benjamin Netanyahu is not a criminal. He is the democratically chosen leader of the Jewish people at a critical time. Let the voters decide their future, not the headlines, not the courtroom theater, and not those who believe that elections matter only when their side wins.
As Rabbi Sacks taught: “The test of a leader is not whether he is perfect, but whether he lifts people higher.”
Netanyahu has lifted Israel through war, through diplomacy, through global hostility, and through unprecedented challenges. Let the man lead. Let democracy breathe. And let Israel stand united for the sake of all its people.
The writer is the upcoming author of Moral Diplomacy for a Broken World: Inspired by the Vision of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.