Finance Minister Ze'ev Elkin Testifies in Netanyahu Corruption Trial as PM Watches

Finance Minister Ze'ev Elkin testified Wednesday at the Jerusalem District Court in the ongoing corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Elkin appeared as a defense witness, while Netanyahu attended the courtroom to observe the testimony. Elkin's name appears 14 times in the indictment, which alleges that during his tenure as coalition chairman, he helped formulate a plan to stall a bill targeting the newspaper Israel Hayom by sending it to a parliamentary committee if it passed a preliminary reading. The indictment also claims Netanyahu did not disclose this plan to Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Noni Mozes and failed to update Elkin on related conversations.

Before Elkin's testimony began, Netanyahu's lawyer Amit Hadad requested to cross-examine him, but the prosecution opposed, citing Elkin's political affiliation with Netanyahu and his role as a government minister. Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman questioned the relevance of this to the examination method, but the prosecution maintained it was a factor the court should consider.

During his testimony, Elkin criticized the prosecution for not calling him as a witness earlier, stating he did not need legal assistance to clarify what he knew. When asked if he viewed Netanyahu's interactions with Yedioth Ahronoth as bribery, Elkin replied that the perception was the opposite. He described the relationship between media and politics as reciprocal, with mutual assistance expected, and emphasized that none considered such interactions criminal.