By MARTIN SHERMAN
Netanyahu was elected as the Prime Minster, not as the Pope. Accordingly, he should be judged primarily on the basis of his political and strategic accomplishments, not his personal morality
What we are witnessing is, in effect, little less than an attempt at a bloodless coup d’état – conducted, not by the military, but by the messianic, indeed manic, mainstream media, buttressed by affiliated like-minded civil society elites, in a frenzied effort to impose their minority worldview on the nation…Enraged by their inability to rally sufficient public support on substantive policy issues, to unseat the object of their visceral enmity, Benjamin Netanyahu, and nonplussed by the tenacity of his “delinquent” hold on the premiership, despite their undisguised loathing, his political rivals have despaired of removing him from office by normal electoral means…Instead, they have descended into an unprecedented nadir of mean-spirited malevolence in Israeli public life….Coup d’état?, February 22, 2015
These are words I wrote, almost exactly three years ago, just prior to Netanyahu’s somewhat unexpected reelection in March 2015. In large measure, they are just as relevant now as they were then.
No uncritical pro-Bibi apologist
As readers who have followed my INTO THE FRAY column will recall, I have never been an uncritical, pro-Bibi apologist.
On the contrary, I have excoriated a number of his policy decisions, regularly and severely, and have even called for his resignation…on matters of policy.
Thus, for example, I strongly condemned his 2009 Bar Ilan speech, in which he accepted the idea of Palestinian statehood – see here and here. Likewise, I was severely critical of his decision to release over 1000 convicted terrorists (2011) to secure the release of captured IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit?—?and was even more opposed to a subsequent (2013) release of prisoners as a futile gesture to assuage the then-Secretary of State, John Kerry, in the vain hope of coaxing Mahmoud Abbas into renewing negotiations?—?see here and here.
I vehemently disapproved of his ill-advised attempt at rapprochement with Turkey?—?particularly the compensation paid for the casualties incurred when Israeli commandoes had to defend themselves against attempts to lynch them on the Turkish vessel, Mavi Marmara, trying to breach the maritime quarantine of the terror enclave in Gaza.
Perhaps my most serious—and ongoing—criticism of Netanyahu is his enduring failure to adequately address the problem of international delegitimization of Israel, by refusing to allot adequate resources to initiate and sustain a strategic diplomatic offensive to confront, curtail and counter the global assault on the legitimacy of the Jewish state?—?see most recently here.
But for all my sharp disagreements with him, my criticism was always focused exclusively on matters of substantive policy, never on matters of persona or personality.
Smokes? Hootch? Really?!
Looking back at my 2015 article today, it is surprising (or not) just how little has changed since then.
Today, just as then, it is staggering just how petty and vindictive the vicious vendetta against Israel’s longest serving prime minister is—and how utterly irrelevant its alleged incriminations are to both the challenges the nation is facing and to Netanyahu’s fitness, as PM, to meet them…
Indeed, much of what I wrote then is—except for several differences of nuance and detail—entirely pertinent today:
“Rather than engaging in a substantive debate on how to conduct the affairs of the nation, they have embarked on a dishonorable – the less charitable might say “disgraceful” – attempt to oust a prime minister by means of a maelstrom of petty and pernicious ad hominem attacks…directed not only against Netanyahu but…against his spouse, who – whatever her character defects may (or may not) be—is hardly a relevant factor in determining his ability to govern.”
Indeed, as I pointed out:
“Devoid of any persuasive policy alternative of real substance, and of any alternative candidate of authentic stature, Netanyahu’s…detractors have mobilized to exploit their unelected positions of power and privilege to launch a massive media blitz against him and his wife – with the naked intention of degrading his political stature by denigrating his/her alleged personal excesses.”
Thus, after over a year of intensive investigations, that spanned several continents and reportedly costing the Israeli taxpayer tens of millions of shekels, all that the police could come up with is that Netanyahu accepted an unseemly amount of smokes and hootch from his long-time buddies—in exchange for which, at the end of the day, they received precisely zilch, nada, zippo!
Really??
Ignoring ISIS, Iran and Islamists…
Back in 2015 I expressed astonishment that:
“… in a country…facing the specter of a nuclear Iran, an ascendant Islamic State threatening stability in Jordan…the deployment of Iranian-bolstered Hezbollah forces on the Golan, growing jihadist dominance of Sinai, and burgeoning anti-Semitism across Europe, the national media somehow found it appropriate to focus almost exclusively on ‘strategically crucial’ issues such as who received (gasp) $1,000 paid for recycled bottles from the PM’s official residence, whether Sara Netanyahu’s hairdos were excessively costly, or whether the prime minister’s garden furniture had been purchased in strict accordance with prescribed guidelines.”
My astonishment at the nature of the recent investigation remains undiminished. Indeed, as I remarked then: “While I would not wish to belittle, in any way, the need for personal integrity of public officials and for keeping a stringent lookout to ensure the judicious use of taxpayers’ hard earned money – what we witnessed in recent days was not a display of unbiased investigative journalism…It was a carefully choreographed and coordinated attempt at a political putsch by the press.”
The distinct impression is that the same anti-Bibi choreography persists today—bolstered by what is looking increasing like a contrived and politically motivated police investigation.
Guilty of…serial impotence??
After all, even if the police allegations are correct and Netanyahu did accept an inordinate amount of perishable merchandize to indulge his hedonistic tastes, it appears that he was resoundingly unsuccessful in providing any “quid” in return for any ill-gotten “quo”.
Accordingly, if Netanyahu did, in fact have any untoward motives with regard to improperly advancing the interests of plutocratic pals, the most he seems to be guilty of in this regard is serial incompetence in delivering the goods in exchange for the goodies.
It is of course, no secret that, in my eyes, Bibi is a deeply flawed prime minister. However, in my eyes, he is also the least deeply flawed of all his potential rivals who are possible candidates to replace him–particularly the currently leading contender, Yair Lapid, who now has apparently emerged as a key witness in the investigation against the man he wishes to depose.
You couldn’t make this stuff up!
After all, given Lapid’s failure to unseat Netanyahu in a reported “putsch” attempt while serving as a minister in his government (which led to his sacking), and his failure to do so at the ballot box in the 2015 elections, one might well be forgiven for allowing the suspicion to creep into one’s mind that he was only too happy to contribute to his nemesis’s downfall by non-parliamentary means.
Troubling questions
I do not want to dwell on the legal (or legalistic) intricacies of the suspicions against Netanyahu, as I have neither the information nor the professional expertise to do so.
However, as a reasonably well-informed layman, a prima facie perusal of the published allegations raise several troubling questions.
For example, if—as Lapid apparently claims—when he was serving as Finance Minister, Netanyahu tried to improperly induce him to extend a law passed by the Olmert government granting tax benefits to wealthy associates, why then did he not expose such malfeasance earlier, instead of waiting over three years for the police to prompt him?
This sense of unease is heightened not only by critiques of several prominent lawyers, who talk of “serious gaps” in the file submitted by the police, but even more so by reports of a “deep rift” between the police and the prosecution as to the thoroughness (or lack thereof) of the investigation and its findings.
But beyond the claims and counter-claims of impropriety and charges of unjustified discriminatory selective enforcement against Netanyahu (but not against rival politicians), there is the “minor” question of…common sense.
For even if one concedes that the Prime Minister was somewhat cavalier in accepting expensive gifts from his well-heeled friends over a period of a decade—when he was both in and out of office—common sense would seem to dictate that public censure and punitive disciplinary measures would be far more appropriate than criminal prosecution and removal from office.
Thus, when the next election comes, Netanyahu would have to seek renewed approval of his party and the public—in light of, or despite, the exposure of his hedonistic lapses.
A call for common sense
This of course is not a call to condone excesses of those in power, or diminish the imperative for clean government—but a call for reasonable and proportionate response to alleged infringements, in light of the underlying intent and de facto consequences.
The merits of this approach are intensely magnified when such alleged infringements are compared to the threats and challenges Israel faces today. With Iran at the gates, greatly empowered by the Obama-sponsored nuclear deal (which Netanyahu rightly and courageously strove to thwart, only to have his efforts undermined by those who now seek his removal); with an ever-more aggressive Iranian-proxy, Hezbollah, deploying in the Golan; with a Hamas-controlled Gaza edging ever-closer to confrontation; with Sinai descending into ungovernable brutality; and with Israel fighting for international legitimacy; it seems almost inconceivable that the government should be thrown into turmoil over cigars and champagne…even if, as charged, Netanyahu did act to help his friend, with a long record of service to the nation, with his visa arrangement in the US.
Indeed, given the ilk of Israel’s enemies, it is hardly implausible to conjecture that they would be greatly heartened by the spectacle of such disarray—and, emboldened by the belief that the government is distracted by such domestic strife, feel that the time is ripe to test the Jewish state with coordinated aggression.
Prime minister, not Pope
As I mentioned previously, I have no personal or ideological allegiance to Netanyahu. Indeed, some might believe I even have cause to feel slighted by him.
However, none of this should obscure the decades of his distinguished service to the country –as a special forces warrior, an accomplished diplomat, an astute finance minister, a brilliant foreign minister and as Israel’s longest serving prime minister.
Of course, this does not put him above the law, but it surely should put any allegation that he purposely acted to harm the national interest for personal greed in perspective.
After all, Netanyahu was elected as the Prime Minster, not as the Pope. Accordingly, he should be judged primarily on the basis of his political and strategic accomplishments, not his personal morality–and his capacity to deal with the challenges facing the country should weigh far more than his ascetics or his hedonism.
The real casualty
There are testing times ahead for Israeli society. Beset by harrowing external threats and what is liable to be unprecedented domestic tumult, there are unlikely to be any positive outcomes that emerge from the current furor.
If Netanyahu is not indicted, or indicted and acquitted, it will be a massive blow to the credibility of the nation’s law enforcement.
If he is convicted and forced out of office, many will see this as naked politicization of law enforcement in the country, in effect, a legalistic coup d’état, designed to annul the outcome of elections–and will deal a mortal blow to their faith in the democratic process.
Either way, there will be no winners—and the real casualty will be the public’s belief in the intuitions of state in Israel.
Martin Sherman is the founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies
Edgar G. Said:
This is what you said.
And then you said:
And I just agreed with you while adding the other “Manchurian Candidate” references as relevant.
If this how you are when I take your side, I’m looking forward to seeing what your opposition is like.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
I wasn’t comparing “Witness” to anything, so I don’t know what you assumed I was. I pointed out…as you can see , if you read my post above, that for me, mentioning “Manchurian Candidate” as almost unbelievable, brought up by Yamit 82..NOT ME…. although I say ALMOST unbelievable,…. nothing is really so, ever since I read Witness, which showed me the deviousness of real people who involve themselves in plotting..
I’m noticing that I often have to explain things when you have the wrong take on what I’ve actually said. Perhaps you’re kidding me…..somehow. ….
@ Edgar G.:
I read Witness too and there is no resemblance. The movie is more famous than the novel. Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury.
Aaron Klein wrote a terrific book about Obama called “The Manchurian President”. I recommend it. He is Breitbart’s Jerusalem editor now.
Right now I am eating platefulls of gefilte fish with white horse-radish the way it comes in nature, straight out of the jar with Kirkland purified water in lots of ice [I’m a city kid like my parents before me which is how I know that the Manna in the desert was Rediwip which Moses brought back from the future where he went so he could learn about his death and write about it]; does this seriously not make your mouth water, dry toast and oatmeal man?
@ Edgar G.:
I read “Witness” too and there is no resemblance. The movie is more famous than the novel. Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury.
Aaron Klein wrote a terrific book about Obama called “The Manchurian President”. I recommend it. I agree that Obama is a leftist mole and he didn’t mess everything up through incompetence. Though it’s not as out there as the movie either. He is Breitbart’s Jerusalem editor now.
@ yamit82:
The Manchurian Candidate was a novel, with an unbelievable plot…well almost, Nothing is actually unbelievable since I bought and read Whittaker Chambers’ “Witness”……… but in truth, I see no resemblance. A comparison would need 10 ton grappling machines to be able to twist the one plot to resemble to alleged other.
I just now looked up “The Manchurian Candidate” on the internet to refresh my memory, and see that the writer was accused of plagiarising Graves’ “I Claudius”. ..Well….I’ve got that book also and it’s sequel and read the pertinent book several times And I can’t see the plagiarism either, so maybe I’m deficient in discernment, or………????……
@ Edgar G.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBt-LxzXllA&t=18s
Edgar G. Said:
Think Manchurian Candidate wrt BB???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ_t5JhzBTo&t=27s
Maybe Bibi is is planning to “thaw” relations with the Arab world by bringing about an “Ice-Cream Oslo” and providing free Ice-cream to sooth their cares.
Ice Cream Fantasy – Eddie Cantor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBNc072DZYc
“Kid Millions (1934) is an American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, and starring Eddie Cantor. Its elaborate “Ice Cream Fantasy Finale” production number was filmed in three-strip Technicolor, one of the earliest uses of that process in a feature-length film.” ibid
Amazon has it on dvd.
which would be history coming full circle because the Arab league boycotted Eddie Cantor by name for his support for Israel in the 50s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNCVYCXeaE
Sorry, I forgot the citation link
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4084017,00.html
Sometimes the devil is in the details, you know, if you just employ a little common sense. Which, in turn, raises the question: if this stuff is being made up, who are the authors? At what desks do they sit, and in which departments? What’s their story? Any Wikileaks leakers out there to tell us, unafraid to wind up like Seth Rich?
Here’s an article on Ice cream prices in Israel.
“Strauss Popsicle sold in Arab neighborhoods for NIS 1 – compared to NIS 2.5 in Jewish sector, while Cornetto sold for NIS 2.5 compared to NIS 7.5 in western part of capital. Company in response: Prices determined by retailers…”A Popsicle sold here for NIS 2.5 (72 cents) and in Tel Aviv for NIS 3.5 ($1) is sold there for only NIS 1 (29 cents). A simple Cornetto sold in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for NIS 7.5 ($2.16) is sold there for NIS 2.5. Why?”
A popsicle is $1 in Jerusalem. A cornetto (is that a cone?) is $2.16. Cheaper than New York, let me tell you.
So, they ate 5000, if they bought them in an Arab neighborhood, or 2500 popsicles or cones or the equivalent, if they bought it in a Jewish neighborhood? Are the Netanyahus diabetic yet? Or just dead, maybe? Fat, toothless, and dead?
Does he really smoke cigars?
How does that work for a diplomat or head of state? Is this a century ago? He must smell like an ashtray, a stale ashtray. His breath, his clothes, his house, his car.
My bullshit detector is ringing loud and clear.
And, how do we know all this to be true, especially seeing as there have been no indictments? Where is all this information coming from? $5,000 a month for ice cream? How much does ice cream cost in Israel? They don’t even have small children. Does that even make any sense? We are inundated daily with the same sort of allegations against Trump here.
As far as who would replace Bibi, aren’t we agreed that Lapid, who is the chief witness against him, or Herzog, the darling of the diaspora left, both of whom are such craven appeasers that they make Bibi look like Kahane by comparison, would be disasters for Israel.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Thank you for your support, Are you open to a position as, say Minister of Culture and dietary improvements…. Thats by the way. The very first thing I’d do is…………..
Hang all the lawyers….!!! I’m still thinking about the second thing…
In actual fact, I’m being facetious in cheering myself up, because I’m a bit shaken at Yamit’s post recounting Netanyahu’s crimes. They make Olmert look like a little learner, even though he has ganav written all over his face warning us beforehand.
@ yamit82:
Yamit, I am astonished at what is in the beginning of your post. I had no idea of any of this. If true, then …to the guillotine. So how did he get away with it, unless it was legal. The garden furniture accusation seemed to drift away, maybe because it’s been reported often that he has meetings and visits from foreign leaders at Caesarea as well as at the PMs house.
As for his wife accompanying him, we don’t know what support she gives him, nor what observations she makes as a psychologist, when in the company of world leaders. If she won’t “let him out of her sight”, then he cannot be regarded as “dragging her”.around on these trips. Many world leaders have their wives accompany them on International trips , but many don’t. Who knows why. They seem to be a tight pair. Maybe because it’s his 3rd marriage that she keeps a close eye on him.
The ice cream has been well and truly dealt with by past publicity. The total bills monthly were solidly reported to have been $2700 and were ordered by a subordinate which when it came to Netanyahu’s attention, he immediately cancelled. At least these are the reports and I even remember them. But I suppose they still order ice cream. The makers, when interviewed said that normally the order is only larger when there are guests, that Netanyahu could not possibly eat much of it. The guests eat most of it. So maybe that’s why it died down as a topic.
I’ve just re-read your post and there certainly is a lot that-if true as you represent, deserves severe penalties.. So the questions is why was any of it been allowed to continue, because much of it has been in the past, when, if dealt with, would have ensured no future. . When that ganav Nephtali was fired it was reported that successive years saw a 4 fold drop in household expenses, leading me to believe that there were a lot of items going out of the back door.
Most of what you say is believable, except the gesheft about Adelson. This I don’t believe, except that he was drawing Mozes on to see how far he’s go. Nobody in his right mind, to have Mozes, a bitter enemy (regardless if he might write something nice), to go easy on him, would throw away a newspaper, and a staunch billionaire supporter, who supports him even at a loss of $20 mill a year. NOBODY, not for any reason, even crazy as a loon.
I think the Bezeq and submarine outcome will settle the matter. ……………….I lived in Israel for 14 years, and it didn’t take long for me to conclude that it held the largest conglomeration of thieves, con men, and general drek that I had ever come across. And some very wonderful people too. I myself was almost bankrupted there, my home, all furniture, and possessions, brand new car and travel trailer, even my dear late mother’s 75 year old canvas picture of her as a young girl, torn to shreds, everything destroyed, in a way never seen except after a heavy air raid.
So I would believe anything could happen in Israel, and that in Israel bribery and corruption is a normal way of doing business. A different level of morality than in some other places. As an individual your outlook is what I would expect from a normal, honest person, but being still a logical man, I am waiting to see some fairly conclusive proof . And it seems that it will come from the present matters ongoing.
Edgar G. Said:
A little hard to imagine what form such character flaws might take coming from a man who said, and I quote:
How’s that for a back-handed compliment, Mahatma?
Waddya say, guys, should we elect Edgar PM?
It would seem to avoid corruption charges you either have to be able to pay for your own excesses like Trump or Bloomberg or you have to live like Lenin who while allowing his Bolshevik underlings to party it up like aristocrats in the Kremlin, himself lived something like Edgar in a one room attic in the place, ever the ascetic.
So, Edgar, what will be your first act as PM?
@ Edgar G.:
BB in his first 2 terms tried to emulate thatcher and sell of state assets…. He sold many for 10 cents on the dollar value to mostly moneyed vested interests is there a connection between lavish gifts to BB and awarding tenders or non tenders to his friends and supporters??? Don’t know if anyone ever checked for connections. Since we both know there are no free lunches especially in politics when the average wage here is less than half what it is in America and when the elderly and holocaust survivors are barely surviving and when half the children are living in official poverty to see our PM acting and living like King louie it does not go over well optics matter….BB is well paid, and has an adequate expense acct. But he stole new garden furniture from the PM residence and exchanged it for older even shoddy by comparison furniture from his own home in Cesaria … He is that cheap and petty. $ 5000 a month for ice cream?? Thousands for Sarah’s hair dresser? No leader drags their spouses on ever overseas trips. She won’t let him out of her sight OK but on our expense? He likes very expensive cigars let him pay for them out of pocket etc but the big stuff is damning and now they have him good on Bezq with I hear hundreds of damning emails and states witnesses…. I hear and believe he has taken kickbacks from German submarine contractors maybe thru his trusted personal lawyer who brokered the deals In truth I would overlook most of his crimes if i believed he would preserve the interests of the state from the perspective of the ideological right but he has till now done the exact opposite and can’t be trusted. He will sell us out if he can get away with it politically…..@ Edgar G.:
Adelson created the news paper to help and support BB when all the others were beating him day and night worse than what they are now doing to trump but much was deserved….. BB attempted to make a deal with the devil that had it succeeded would have stabbed Adelson in the back by making his investment almost mute for what I believe would have resulted in little benefit to BB…. People here know him and most hate him and soft peddling anti-BB articles wouldn’t change much but losing israel Hayom support would hurt more than any gain from mozes’ Yediot. It just shows how shallow ambitious and how callous he is.
@ Edgar G.:
He also double billed 😉
@ Edgar G.:
BB in his first 2 terms tried to emulate thatcher and sell of state assets…. He sold many for 10 cents on the dollar value to mostly moneyed vested interests is there a connection between lavish gifts to BB and awarding tenders or non tenders to his friends and supporters??? Don’t know if anyone ever checked for connections. Since we both know there are no free lunches especially in politics when the average wage here is less than half what it is in America and when the elderly and holocaust survivors are barely surviving and when half the children are living in official poverty to see our PM acting and living like King louie it does not go over well optics matter….BB is well paid, and has an adequate expense acct. But he stole new garden furniture from the PM residence and exchanged it for older even shoddy by comparison furniture from his own home in Cesaria … He is that cheap and petty. $ 5000 a month for ice cream?? Thousands for Sarah’s hair dresser? No leader drags their spouses on every overseas trips. She won’t let him out of her sight OK but on our expense? He likes very expensive cigars let him pay for them out of pocket etc etc but the big stuff is damning and now they have him good on Bezq with I hear hundred of damning emails and states witnesses…. I hear and believe he has taken kickbacks from German submarine contractors maybe thru his trusted personal lawyer who brokered the deals In truth I would overlook most of his crimes if i believed he would preserve the interests of the state from the perspective of the ideological right but he has till now done the exact opposite and can’t be trusted. He will sell us out if he can get away with it politically…..
ms Said:
Yes of course the people but when you have crooks as leaders should they be above the law? No indictment will be issued without the State Attorney signing off and the current one is a BB appointee. In Israel as you know BB was elected as head of the Likud party and lacking a majority and barely a plurality. In the past BB stole votes to the President from right wing parties then proceeded to reject their inclusion and opt for Labour party and others on the left creating a balance of power mostly against the right wing that both got him the nomination to form a government and whose voters voted for the likud. BB lied and double crossed supporters to gain power and in no way can he be considered the Peoples democratic choice not the last election or anyone since 1996…. Even then he lied and double crossed his support base and was forced to resign & go to elections and lost to Barak BIG TIME. So save the democracy crap we don’t have a real honest democracy here and maybe never have since 1948 …. Maybe Sharon’s Landslide win is the exception.
My question to you: Can we trust a pathological liar and grifter to stay true to his mandate given to him by most of his supporters and his right wing coalition partners voting base? He has not so demonstrated. You know and i know BB had one single overriding mandate and that was to stop Iran from not only attaining a Nuke but many nukes and delivery platforms….. One can say with almost certainty that in that mandate he failed and should be deposed just on that score…. If your problem behind your sophist defense of BB is your fear of who will replace him then that’s a different set of points for discussion but really knowing BB and his record does it really matter??
@ yamit82:
If he does/did accept jets and hotels all it does is save the State from the expense. It would have to pay for these things otherwise……no??? We don’t know that he doesn’t have a secret, private arrangement with the gov. to accept these money saving items. Funny things happen in Israel, as I myself should know.
I see the CAPTCHA mishugas is working again. It’s so much better without it, allowing time for correcting typos and adding or subtracting from the original post.
@ yamit82:
The whole point of democracy is that the people not the police get to decide when to depose the leader
The crimes that Olmert was ultimately convicted of were more serious than anything Bibi is alleged to have done. He accepted several hundred thousand dollars in bribes to allow a contractor to build a hideous high-rise in Jerusalem that violated all of the city’s building codes, and that everyone considered to be an eyesore, and still do. It was the indignant clamor of enraged neighbors, city planners and environmental activists as much as pressure from his political enemies, that led to his indictment. Another behavior that led to his ultimately being charged was that he encouraged his loyal secretary to lie under oath about his corrupt acts, which is obstruction of justice. He was never even charged with his less extreme acts of corruption t, such as his habit of accepting gold-plated pens worth between 100 and 1,000 dollars from people who visited his office and asked for favors. He had a collection over a thousand of these pens, made by Swiss jewelers, all carefully shelved, cataloged and labelled. He probably still owns this collection. Even so, when he came up for sentencing, the prosecutors asked for leniency and no jail time. But after all that he heard about Olmert’s corruption, the presiding judge got angry and gave him some jail time anyway. While the ruling establishment has been trying frantically to charge Bibi with something, they tried their best to save Olmert, but their efforts sank under the sheer weight of the evidence against him.
@ yamit82:
The ONE thing more than ANY OTHER which causes me to believe that Netanyahu is not corrupt by Israeli standards (I said by Israeli standards) is that he was accused of “throwing under the bus” Sheldon Adelson, the very canny billionaire who has backed Netanyahu to the extend of publishing a newspaper that costs him a loss of $20 mill a year.
This accusation is so ridiculous that only someone blinded by hatred could believe and disseminate it.
And…let me remind everyone, $20 mill a YEAR is super-exponentially more than Netanyahu is accused of taking in bribes, payoffs, empty bottles , garden furniture and “Uncle Tom Cobbeley and all”..thrown together….since he was born. Even ONE year’s Israel Hayom losses.
How silly can we get….? to accuse a man of everything under the sun because of a character flaw that some have observed and detest. I have a few of them myself…..
@ ms:
You cannot separate moral turpitude from politics and political malfeasance. They are two sides of the same coin…. Nobody expects saints but our politicians have made both an art form…. The only real checks and balances we have is an aggressive press…. Yes most have an agenda but when they expose leaders of the so called right for crimes and misdemeanors they are performing a necessary function in our dysfunctional democracy but then it seems all democracies these days are corrupt and dysfunctional….. 11 years of BB is enough even by my standards, too much …. Off with his head and Sarah’s Too!! 😛
BB should have been indicted and jailed for his TRAVEL GATE CRIMES…..He refuses to spend his own money on his lavish ( for Israel) life style so he accepts all kinds of gifts (bribes) from rich Jews around the world, from private jets to 5 star hotel suites in most expensive hotels for him and family… Sarah Netanyoyo has a BB donor list who she and BB call upon for every expense while traveling abroad…… we have many quids and some pro-quo’s but bribes are an investment by the bribers for future access and favors…. whether BB can be convicted in an israeli court of law he is definitely corrupt and dirty just very clever so far to stay out of jail….. He is so duplicitous as to throw his biggest deep pocket supporter sheldon Adelson under the bus for potentially short term political gain… He is totally an amoral self absorbed megalomaniac power hungry POS. I would love to see him join Olmert for any and all reasons he is most dangerous PM in our history and that’s saying a lot.
Excellent column. Obviously, Bibi has not committed crimes, since he did not deliver anything in return for those cigars and champaign bottles, and didn’t try very hard to deliver anything to his rich friends, except (maybe) what they were rightfully owed–and even that is unproven. The motives are entirely political behind this investigation. Dr. Sherman should do more, however, to expose the vast conspiracy to render elected politicians unable to govern, and to transfer power to a coalition of judges, prosecutors, other government lawyers, cil service bureaucrats and to a lesser extent military officers, none of whom are either elected nor even appointed by elected officials. The campaign to depose Netanyahu, continuously underway sine 1996, is only one small component of this vast, ongoing coup-d’etat
@ leonkushner:
Poll: Israeli Voters Would Still Elect Netanyahu, Despite Corruption Charges
https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/02/16/poll-israeli-voters-would-still-elect-netanyahu-despite-corruption-charges/
I find this entire situation dangerously embarrassing! I’m surprised at the Israeli public. I thought they were smarter than this. Can’t they see what is going on and stop it? Are they becoming dumbed down leftists like us Jews in the diaspora and busy taking in all the MSM gossip? Scary….
@ ms:
Olmert is a convicted crook. Convicted only on the small part that was clearly provable, as it should be. Olmert was a long time crook. His sense of entitlement is amazing. (Magilo).
@ ms:
Thank you for your response Mr. Sherman.
@ ms:
Would you not think that the fact of the existence, and content of the tapes would indicate that thee other charges had merit. They were almost all similar to one another,the same sort of corruption that it looked as if he had a PhD in. I’ve always believed that they were reversed because he had some pull somewhere. To me, based on my former legal experience, they were concrete. Of course I got only the “outside” news from the media, whereas you have inner means of info.
@ ms:
Oy Veh, I’m surprised at you. Olmert….One just had to look at his face to see the ganav written all over it. I would think you know, but forgot for the moment, that the very expensive house he bought cost him $1.5 mill less than the going rate for other houses built there. And that this was because he allowed the contractor to squeeze in a few more blocks in the area than were allowed. I think he was the Mayor of Jerusalem then. It was publicised at the beginning of his corruption investigation, and supposed to be an indictment coming from it, but became lost with all the other crookery.
Netanyahu is a special case. He has been far more successful than the other PMs you mentioned, and done far more technically involved blocking and stiff-arming, to protect the country. He’s world famous, where the others were comparatively unknown except in the tabloids, through their shifty,corrupt manoeuvering, with Sharon gaining fleeting military fame.
Therefore to pull him down is a huge coup for the pullers…….. I can’t recall what was the sentence for Empty Bottlegate…….. The whole thing is so disgraceful..It reminds me of what goes on-at least it did in my day- before and during a shool election. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve witnessed in Dublin, Ireland.
To tell the truth I found Olmert original conviction unpersuasive and indeed most of it was overturned on appeal. What sunk Olmert were the taped conversations with his former aid that led to charges of obstruction of justice.
While I shed few tears over Olmert’s fate – in my mind his major transgressions were political rather than criminal. Olmert never presented himself as a paragon of virtue to the voter, and thus his moral lapses were no reason for his removal. His grave political ones were.
I have good reason to believe that Olmert (and Sharon and Peres) were no less hedonist than Netanyahu but to the best of my knowledge no probes were launched in to how they maintained their lifestyle.(indeed, the exorbitant cost of the president residence under Peres was never much of a media focus) Or into how much money was funneled into Olmert’s hands via rumored overpriced sales of his wife’s art work.
I agree that the press in Israel, much like the press in America with regards to Trump, is actively working to oust Bibi. I as well have hardly been an avid fan of his (Bibi) what with his never ending penchant for speaking loudly but carrying a very small stick when it comes to Judea and Samaria, and safeguarding our sovereignty in general.
I would be interested to know however, how Mr. Sherman viewed PM Olmert back when his morality was in question, and whether Mr. Sherman held the same opinion back then as to whether the PM should or shouldn’t be held accountable for his actions purely on a moral basis.
Don’t get me wrong, I detest that snake Olmert, and had I bumped into him as we were coming south in 2006 I would probably be doing a life sentence in an Israeli prison. But I am still curious about MS’s relevant stance at that time.