Israel Matzav

There is no shame in Israel

On my way home from the airport this morning, the taxi driver put on Army Radio's 7:00 AM news broadcast. After hearing the first two stories, I turned to the driver and said, "there's no shame in this country."

The first story was the 'plea bargain' that the branja worked out for our rapist former President Moshe Katzav. Dry Bones' cartoon on Friday provides a summary of what happened:


Make sure to follow the link and read Yaakov Kirschen's summary. I don't have the patience to rewrite it because I find the whole idea that Israel's 'first religious President' is a serial sex offender nauseating and the fact that the branja is ready to go bat for him to be yet another indication of how corrupt this country's leadership is.

Then there's Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert who is embarrassed enough not to show up at a memorial for soldiers killed in last summer's war - for which his government is responsible - but who hides behind the excuse that he did not want to impose 'rigorous security checks' on those attending.

Bereaved families expressed their anger over the prime minister's absence. "I think he is incapable of looking us in the eye," Mirta Shinbrom, whose son Yaniv was killed only a few hours before the war ended, told Army Radio.

"That is Olmert's problem - not security arrangements," Shinbrom added. "This is nonsense and excuses."

Mrs. Shinbrom is correct. Too bad Olmert doesn't have the decency to resign and call new elections and let the country have a chance at real leadership.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:53 PM