Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Moti Kimchi/Pool Photo via AP)

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Last week, following the conclusion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lengthy testimony, the panel of judges decided to accelerate the pace of his trial to five days of hearings per week. The decision was made due to the prolonged nature of the proceedings and, among other reasons, due to concerns that the presiding judge, Rebecca Friedman-Feldman, might not have enough time to complete the written verdict before her expected retirement in March 2028.

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On Monday the defense counsel spoke out against the decision, saying that it effectively leaves them “in detention” during the course of the trial. The prosecutor also joined the criticism of the judges decision.

i24NEWS legal correspondent Avishai Greenzaig sharply criticized the decision for other reasons, arguing that one of its most significant consequences is that the defense attorneys, and prosecutors as well, will effectively be forced to work on the Jewish Sabbath. He noted that the presiding judge is herself religiously observant.

“The decision to move to a five-day-a-week schedule is absurd from every angle,” Greenzaig wrote. According to him, the new schedule was imposed on the defense in the middle of the trial after years in which the proceedings had been conducted under a different format, without any prior notice.

He argued that the defense attorneys also represent other clients with cases before the courts and added:”It’s impossible to prepare properly for hearings under these conditions. A defense attorney or a prosecutor is also entitled to have a life outside evidentiary hearings.”

Grinzaig added that the practical effect of the decision is to compel work on Shabbat. “That is the clear and unavoidable consequence. If hearings are held five days a week in a way that is truly unprecedented anywhere in Israel, then at some point witnesses have to be prepared and questions and cross-examinations have to be planned. So when is that supposed to happen?”

He continued that if he were representing one of the defendants in the so-called “Case 1000” proceedings, he would write to the presiding judge: “As a religious woman, I understand that you have ruled that Netanyahu’s trial overrides the Sabbath. Therefore, I request that this be stated explicitly in an official judicial decision.”

Greenzaig also recalled that Justice Noam Sohlberg had previously written that judicial decisions cannot require parties to submit responses on a timetable that effectively forces them to work on Shabbat. “Since the panel has changed the rules, it should at least be put on the table,” he wrote.

He further argued that there is little chance the hearings will actually take place five days every week on a consistent basis. “This is just one more of the hundreds of decisions this panel has made where it’s completely obvious they won’t actually happen and mainly demonstrate poor judgment.”

Greenzaig also criticized the Israel Bar Association, saying it has failed to defend lawyers’ rights in this case. “This decision has dramatic implications for attorneys’ rights. Yet the Bar Association has remained completely silent. It’s apparently more important for the Bar to petition the High Court on issues unrelated to it than to protect the rights of its own members simply because they represent defendants whom the Bar Association’s chairman dislikes politically.”

According to Greenzaig, a district court judge who handles serious organized crime cases contacted him and said: “What you wrote about the Bar Association is exactly right. This is precisely the kind of issue it exists to address. You can also add that nothing like this exists in any trial, not organized crime cases, not terrorism cases. It’s essentially a special rule created only for Netanyahu.”

Meanwhile, although Netanyahu has already completed his testimony, the prime minister is expected to appear this morning at the Jerusalem District Court to try to persuade the judges to reverse their decision to accelerate the trial to five hearing days per week.

Although Netanyahu’s testimony was heard at the Tel Aviv District Court because of security and protective infrastructure concerns at the Jerusalem courthouse, today’s hearing will take place at the Jerusalem District Court.