In all the insinuations, statements or even threats that have been heard lately - in the words of Aharon Barak, the legal adviser to the government or the former ombudsman Mandelblit - there is a hidden and shocking message: Netanyahu's freedom or reform - choose.
They want to say, if you continue to promote the reform - Netanyahu's freedom will be harmed, whether it is his civil freedom to be elected (by throwing the sword of the fortresses) or whether it is his freedom as a person (by influencing the sentence in the trial).
One of the recurring claims of the opponents of the reform is that Netanyahu is leading it to ease his legal situation.
At every opportunity and every statement of one Knesset member or another, they look for "proof" of this relationship, of the existence of a conflict of interest, according to them.
It does not matter the fact that the trial continues to proceed as it should, and that Netanyahu actually rejected offers for a plea deal (that is, he could have ended the trial);
Never mind the fact that the continuation of the trial actually helps in revealing the truth and the wrongs done to Netanyahu, which strengthens the claim that this is a political move against him;
Regardless of the fact that there is no logical connection between the changes involved in the reform, which involve restoring the balance between the authorities, and the clarification of facts and evidence in one specific trial or another - the opponents of the reform continue with all their might to try to create an associative connection.
This is how they deliberately skip, almost in one breath, between the discussion of the reform and statements about the Netanyahu trial.
Aharon Barak is interviewed about the reform and makes comments about a plea deal.
The ombudsman Beharve-Miara talks about the reform and mentions Netanyahu's conflict of interest because of the trial. Mandelblit talks about the reform and does not stop saying that he is prevented from speaking about the trial, so that he actually echoes the word "trial" over and over again throughout the interview regarding the reform. But as much as they work to undo this associative connection, the reality is quite different.
If there is any connection between the reform and the Netanyahu trial, then they have an opposite relationship.
That is, if the reform is stopped, and even by Netanyahu, he will actually benefit from it.
On the other hand, if the reform goes through, the threats to his political and personal future will likely come true.
Hand on heart, who is the person who has been hurt the most so far on a personal level and on a public level because he was not willing to submit to these systems?
Who could have escaped all the attacks against him if he had only stepped a little to the left?
Does Sharon act, or even establish a unity government and not a right-wing government?
After all, Abramovich's statement, "Etrog was a lemon compared to him", was invented to put pressure on Netanyahu to do so.
The same goes for the reform.
Who can benefit the most on a personal level and on a public level if it is frozen or shelved?
Who will suddenly become the proper leader, the responsible adult, the man of justice and peace - exactly in the camp protesting against him now?
Who will you carry on a silver platter - the combination of politics, the media and the judicial system - if sticks are stuck in the wheels of the most important move that the right-wing camp has ever tried to promote?
After all, it is clear to everyone that if the balance of power is not restored, the right will never rule in practice, even if it continues to win the elections.
In this spirit, does anyone doubt what the fate of the trial would have been, if Netanyahu had chosen the path of the opponents of the reform?
Also, let's not forget Abramovich's words: "If Yariv Levin is a minister of justice - that's another year in prison for Netanyahu."
These were said in 2019. Even before the current government was formed.
The message, not to mention the threat, was the same: Netanyahu will pay the price for changing the justice system.
That is, not only is there no direct connection between law and reform, there is definitely an inverse connection.
And while it is a dangerous equation that trades a person's freedom, its makers continue again and again, without batting an eyelid, to spread the lie that Netanyahu is promoting the reform in order to save himself from the trial.
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