The first ten days of the Jewish new year, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are known as the days of atonement. It is a time in which observant Jews take stock of their sins in the preceding year. That Israel's attorney-general, Avichai Mandelblit, a deeply devout man, decided to hold the country's most important legal proceeding during this period hardly seems coincidental. On October 2nd lawyers representing Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, began making the case that their client should not be charged with corruption. Mr Mandelblit, who will make the final decision, has already said there is enough evidence for indictments on counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The hearing, spread over four days, is Mr Netanyahu's first chance to challenge that evidence— and last chance to avoid going on trial. He would be the first sitting prime minister put in the dock.
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