Is Nir Hefetz the most damaging witness the prosecution has to offer? 

Anyone with an ounce of common decency was revolted by the testimony of Nir Hefetz, the star prosecution witness in Binyamin Netanyahu’s Case 4000 trial for breach of trust and bribery.

Hefetz, who served as the Netanyahu family media advisor, told the court that police interrogators deprived him of food, sleep, and medications, detained him in unsanitary conditions, and threatened to ruin him financially and personally if he didn’t cough up everything he knew about Bibi.

The three-judge panel presiding over the case must decide what weight to place on evidence gathered by interrogation tactics normally reserved for terrorists.

Hefetz’s depiction of Netanyahu spending as much time and effort on his media coverage as he did on national security certainly casts Bibi in a bad light, making Mr. Security appear to be a very insecure person. However, Hefetz bombed on the witness stand, as he could not deliver proof that Netanyahu bribed anyone in return for better news coverage.

Both Ben Caspit and Baruch Kra — the two journalists who Bibi claims helped the police and the prosecution frame him — both wrote columns in the last week casting serious doubt as to whether the bribery charge will stick.

There’s still a long road to travel, as the trial is expected to continue well into 2022, but if Nir Hefetz is the most damaging witness the prosecution has to offer, they are facing a long, hard winter.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 889)