Gantz
GantzShmulik Almani

Blue and White Chairman Defense Minister Benny Gantz currently holds a variety of portfolios following the departure of his former party members from the government.

Is this fact problematic in light of the further investigation of the Fifth Dimension affair that may unfold? Lawyer Kinneret Barashi thinks that is definitely true.

"Obviously this is problematic. Benny Ganz himself said such things are problematic when it comes to Netanyahu's choice of Attorney General. He struggled and stated that he is here to protect the rule of law, etc., and that if someone is an interested party and has a connection he should not be a partner. It seems that is why it was important for him to take the case file. He entered the government as if in the name of coronavirus, but how does the Justice Ministry relate to the coronavirus? Gantz has solutions.

"When we are in the place where the 'Fifth Dimension' portfolio is in its ongoing and corrupt procrastination, and Benny Gantz who headed this company and received five million shekels from public funds, which allowed him to earn a decent living beyond the budgetary pension he enjoys, in such a situation being justice minister is very problematic. It's a serious conflict of interest."

Barashi points out that the seriousness of the matter is much greater than what Gantz talked about when referring to Netanyahu, since the trial has already begun with Netanyahu, which means that the choice of state attorney no longer matters in the legal process, while in the case of Benny Gantz there's great significance to the connection between his position as acting Justice Minister and the decision to file an indictment.

"What will Benny Gantz, the Minister of Justice, say today, about the fact that no decision has been made yet and here there's a lot of influence. The effect is in deciding whether to file an indictment, whether to put Benny Gantz in because of his primary role, whether to open a personal investigation, etc. The decisions of the State Attorney and the Minister of Justice have a great influence on this.

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if Gantz hadn't spoken in such a way about the election of the State Attorney by Netanyahu as part of a government, while he's a lone justice minister and there is a case against the company he headed, he already received money from public funds, there was misrepresentation to the police because this company had no customers and Gantz as the person who headed the company is personally responsible for this misrepresentation and fraudulent receipt."

Advocate Barashi further strengthens her remarks and states that “the case in the first place was a Blue and White flattery campaign. They deceived their constituents when they explained the entry into the government on the pretext that the coronavirus obliged them to do so, but in practice they did the exact opposite, they did everything the opposite. All they dealt with was to glorify the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General, to whitewash all the nonsense that existed during this period. We heard the words of Nissenkorn who defined himself as a bulwark for the prosecution instead of realizing that he should be a bulwark for the citizens. In such a situation it is understandable that there is no connection between coronavirus and the Ministry of Justice. Their entry into the government was because of the court case.

"They did not take and did not insist on taking any portfolio related to COVID. Coronavirus is welfare, education, health and they took none of that. The Ministries of Tourism, Foreign Affairs, and Justice are not related to COVID-19," says Barashi and condemns the silence of the Leftists and the media. And she quotes Gantz' remarks from a few months ago in this Justice Ministry context.

"They do not tell him 'you harmed professionals' so they won't be elected to the State Attorney's Office on the pretext of Netanyahu's cases that have already begun, which means that no decision should be made on them. There is something here that to me, as a citizen, doesn't make sense. It is not clear to me how in this situation there is no conflict of interest and everything is fine. The media is silent and the Attorney General doesn't say a word."