High-profile case10/6/2026

Eitan Cabel Testified in “Case 2000” About the Law Against Free Newspapers

Former Knesset member Eitan Cabel testified as a witness in “Case 2000” — one of the three parts of Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial. He maintains that he initiated on his own the bill restricting the free distribution of daily newspapers, although he received suggestions regarding its wording from Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon (Noni) Mozes.

Key facts

•Proceeding: “Case 2000” as part of the Netanyahu trial
•The bill was submitted on March 12, 2014
•Initiator of the bill: Eitan Cabel
•Title: “Bill for the Promotion and Protection of the Written Press in Israel”
•The case against Cabel was closed
•The case number and court name are not specified in the source

What Was Investigated

“Case 2000” concerns contacts surrounding a possible restriction on the distribution of the newspaper Israel Hayom. In this part of the trial, Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust, while Mozes is charged with offering Netanyahu a bribe. Cabel was previously questioned as a suspect because of his relationship with Mozes, but former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit closed the case against him in accordance with the position of the majority of the prosecution team’s members.

The Bill and Mozes’s Role

On March 12, 2014, Cabel submitted the “Bill for the Promotion and Protection of the Written Press in Israel.” It mandated payment for a widely circulated daily newspaper and could thereby have affected Israel Hayom’s free-distribution model. Cabel stated that he sent Mozes the draft and received suggestions and ideas from him regarding the wording, but denied that the publisher had given him a completed bill.

Offer of Favorable Media Coverage

According to Cabel, representatives of Israel Hayom offered favorable coverage in exchange for abandoning the bill. He stated that he did not view this as bribery or an unlawful act. Cabel also claimed that in his contacts with representatives of Yedioth Ahronoth, he kept the issues separate: he discussed the law with Mozes and media coverage with the editor at the time, Ron Yaron.

The Dispute Over Preparing the Draft

Cabel testified that the bill was drafted by Eti Bendler, then the legal adviser to the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee. She denies this; according to the source, her position is supported by the prosecution and Netanyahu’s defense. Following questions from attorney Amit Hadad, the judges instructed prosecutor Judith Tirosh to continue questioning Cabel as part of the direct examination — using open-ended questions and without presenting evidence in a confrontational manner; the prosecution announced its intention to petition the High Court of Justice.

No Rulings Have Yet Been Made on the Merits

The hearing described was a stage in the ongoing criminal proceeding, not the issuance of a judgment. The source does not report a final decision in “Case 2000” and does not state whether the bill submitted by Cabel was enacted.

What this means for you

The testimony shows that exchanges of proposals between a politician and media representatives may be examined in detail in court, particularly when legislation and the nature of media coverage are discussed in parallel. However, the material itself does not establish any new general rule for citizens and does not report a final judicial conclusion regarding the legality of the contacts described.

Find a lawyer for this topic

Case analysis based on court rulings