‘Bugs Bunny Trial’: Netanyahu Mocks Corruption Charges With Puppet in Viral Video

In an unprecedented and theatrical three-minute video released late Thursday night across his official social media channels, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu physically brandished a large Bugs Bunny puppet while declaring that his marathon corruption trial will henceforth be known worldwide as the “Bugs Bunny trial,” accusing state prosecutors of stooping to the level of citing a harmless children’s gift from nearly three decades ago as supposed proof of systemic corruption.

The embattled leader, indicted on multiple counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, faces allegations that he illegally accepted luxury gifts valued at more than $260,000—including premium cigars, rosé champagne and diamond jewellery—from Hollywood billionaire Arnon Milchan and Australian tycoon James Packer in return for advancing their personal and business interests, while simultaneously pressuring media regulators and publishers to secure favourable coverage in two separate cases.

Only days earlier, Netanyahu had submitted a formal pardon request to President Isaac Herzog, claiming the protracted legal battle is tearing Israeli society apart and preventing him from fully concentrating on pressing security threats; a request that received extraordinary public backing last month when United States President Donald Trump dispatched a personal letter to Herzog urging clemency for his longtime ally.

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During the carefully produced video, Netanyahu dismissed the lavish cigar shipments as routine presents “from a friend,” mocked one media outlet involved in the charges as a “second-rate internet site,” and asserted that his supposed attempts to manipulate coverage actually produced some of the most viciously negative reporting in Israeli history, further underscoring what he called the “absurdity and political motivation” behind the entire prosecution.

The trial, which forced the first-ever criminal proceedings against a sitting Israeli prime minister when testimony began in 2019, has intensified in recent months with a gruelling schedule requiring Netanyahu to appear in the Tel Aviv District Court three times per week—a schedule he insists is deliberately designed to paralyse governance while Israel confronts simultaneous conflicts on multiple fronts, leading him to conclude that only a presidential pardon can end what he labelled a “dangerous farce” costing the nation dearly in unity and focus.

Outside the courthouse earlier this week, hundreds of supporters waving national flags clashed verbally with anti-Netanyahu protesters dressed in bright orange prison jumpsuits, vividly illustrating how the once-legal proceeding has evolved into one of the deepest fractures in contemporary Israeli society.

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