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Posted on 03/15/2007 12:55:19 PM PDT by GMMAC
Israel can't abide political corruption
Father Raymond J. De Souza in Jerusalem, National Post
Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007
There are the scandals themselves. Then there is the scandal of the scandals. The consequences are greater here in Israel; public officials bear a greater burden of responsibility.
Starting at the top, the presidency of Israel is a largely ceremonial position, with the head of state's main role being to lend dignity and decorum to public life. That is rather hard to do when you are accused of raping two women. The Attorney-General said last month that an indictment may be forthcoming in May. President Moshe Katzav doesn't intend to resign unless formally indicted.
The Prime Minister also hopes to avoid indictment. Ehud Olmert is being investigated for potential abuses of office related to private real estate dealings and the sale of the state-owned Bank Leumi. That's in addition to the inquiries into the conduct of the Lebanon war last summer that might, when concluded, also call for his resignation.
The list goes on. Former justice minister Haim Ramon was convicted in February of sexual harassment and resigned. Earlier this month, tourism minister Esterina Hartman resigned after only four days on the job, when it was revealed that she had lied about having two university degrees she had not earned, and that she had made disability claims stating that she could not work. And then just this week, Tzuriel Raphael, the Israeli ambassador to El Salvador, was recalled after he was found by police on the street, drunk, naked and wearing bondage gear.
As would be the case in any other place, the scandals have eroded confidence in leaders. But Israel is not any place; the consequences are greater here. Israel is a small country with universal military service and widespread participation in the reserves. More than in other countries, most citizens know what it means to sacrifice for the good of the nation; indeed, for many here just being an Israeli is a national service.
So to erode the ideal of public service is a scandal in itself, aside from the particulars of the specific case. Israel's survival depends upon millions of Jews deciding that to live in Israel is worth the sacrifices required. The desire to have an easy life, let alone to profit from public service, is a threat to the endurance of the nation. That so many have apparently put self interest ahead of national interest is dispiriting in a nation where the nation depends upon the people's spirit. Israelis must believe that the cause of Israel is just and noble, that Israel is worthy.
There is a generational shift at play. The heroes of 1948 and 1967 have largely departed the scene. In the offices of commanders of the Israeli Defence Force, one now finds an aerial photograph taken in September, 2003 of two IDF F-15 fighter jets flying over the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex. The message is clear enough, but sixty years on from the Shoah, there is apparently need of reminders of why the sacrifices are necessary.
The horrors of the past are not sufficient. Israel has always understood itself to have a special vocation -- an obligation to something greater. For the first generations after the Second World War it was a potent mix of national refuge and socialism. The ideals of the kibbutz played a central role in shaping public life.
Socialism eventually gave way to other projects of national idealism, including the welcoming of enormous numbers of Ethiopian and Russian Jews. And since counter-terrorism became a central part of Israeli life, Israelis have always been at pains to argue that they choose to defend themselves in accord with moral and legal principles. Even when facing sceptical or hostile audiences, Israelis insist on making the argument that Israel is not an amoral state. Other states can afford realpolitik alone; Israelis have long concluded that realpolitik demands that they govern themselves by more than realpolitik alone. An Israel like all the other nations is not sufficient; Israel's own self-understanding demands that it be at least in part a light onto other nations, too.
Widespread scandals of a rather vulgar kind are therefore very damaging. They constitute not only a betrayal of a trust but a betrayal of the nation as well. All are asked to sacrifice. If the leaders do not, how then will the people follow? Or to adapt a biblical phrase: If the trumpet sounds a corrupting note, who will prepare for battle?
© National Post 2007
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Ezekiel 34, a story of Israel's modern government. It is a prophecy of today, 35 and 36 are about Jordan and the West Bank and 37 is about the great return which has yet to happen.
Interesting times we live in.
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