President Katsav
What are we to make of the situation regarding Pres. Katsav? It's clear that Katsav's ability to carry out his role as President has been greatly compromised by the charges that have been leveled against him. But, he has not yet been indicted, they are only potential charges. And he has not yet been tried in a court of law, so he must be assumed innocent. Nevertheless, even if innocent, it's clear that he cannot continue to act as President, and he has been granted a three month leave of absence by the relevant Knesset Committee, during which House Speaker Dalia Itzik will serve temporarily in his place.
What are the charges? A young woman came forward and claimed that Katsav made improper advances towards her and when she resisted he raped her. She was working in his office at the time. What made this more credible is that at least five other women followed her and claimed that they had been sexually harrassed by Katsav at earlier periods of his career. There were even some that were so long ago that they preceded the statute of limitations.
There are two big problems with this situation, the number of complaints and the fact that it's the President they are dealing with, means that the police must be extremely careful how they gather and confirm the evidence. So it has taken months before the Attorney General Meni Mazuz has finally made public his intention to indict Katsav on the charges. But, even now he has not made his final decision, and this may take several more months.
The other problem is that the identities and stories of the accusers cannot be revealed. So while Katsav is being pilloried by the media and many politicians, his accusers are not even named or known to the public. It may be that the story of the main accuser is not credible, and Katsav vehemently denies everything. But, one would expect him to anyway. What did Pres. Clinton say, "I never had sex with that woman!" Well, really?
The implications of the situation are severe: a loss of belief in the system of Government by the citizens, a loss of prestige for the role of President, a loss of credibility for the country abroad. But on the other hand, did Pres. Clinton's little adventure with Monica Lewinski bring down the democratic system in the US. No, on the contrary, the fact that the system has laws and means to deal with such situations shows that the system actually works. Katsav will likely be indicted, will stand trial and will be able to refute the charges, and a panel of judges will decide based on the evidence. Note that in Israel we don't have juries of one's peers, but a panel of judges. For a significant case like the trial of the President there may be 5 or 7 judges, but usually there are three.
Katsav had a very deprived childhood, coming as an immigrant from Iran with his family in 1951 without anything. They lived in a refugee camp (ma'abara) like half the Israeli population then, and their camp became the town of Kiryat Malachi (City of Angels). Katsav's brother was drowned in a flood in the camp, but he went on to become the first person to achieve a degree and became the mayor at the age of 24. Once he was supported by Menachem Begin his political career was assured.
In his uncharacteristically angry press conference on Thursday, when he let loose the floodgates of his feelings that have been bottled up for months, Katsav blamed everybody else but himself. He specifically lambasted the media, the police and the judiciary. But, this won 't wash. Although the press are rarely fair, they have mainly been reporting the situation as it develops, and many people have been reserving their opinions until a trial actually takes place. But, his un-presidential behavior in this press conference even lost Katsav points. Netanyahu could teach him a lesson or two, instead of coming out and crowing "I told you so" about Olmert's and Peretz's behavior in the Lebanon war, Netanyahu has played it very quietly and diplomatically. He has definitely gained by this statesmanlike behavior and is now way ahead in the polls.
There is still a group of MK's, across party lines, that want to impeach Katsav. But, it seems unlikely that they could garner the necessary 2/3 majority in order to do so, and so the situation is that Mazuz will probably bring the actual indictment within three months, and then Katsav will probably resign formally, leading to a vote (in the Knesset, not of the people) for a replacement. At present Shimon Peres is the front runner, because he is old and wise, and PM Olmert backs him. Perhaps Olmert wants to boot him up to get him out of Kadima. Dalia Itzik of Labor has also announced she will not run in the election, so as to clear the way for Peres, her former mentor. But, Peres was considered a shoo-in last time, only to be beaten by Katsav. Peres has raised a storm because he has stated publicly that he knew about Katsav's proclivity back in 2000, but said nothing about it then. Many think he should have done. So nothing is sure, and there are other candidates, including the Likud's Reuven Rivlin. How this will play out is anybody's guess, but it seems that Katsav's political life is essentially over.
What are the charges? A young woman came forward and claimed that Katsav made improper advances towards her and when she resisted he raped her. She was working in his office at the time. What made this more credible is that at least five other women followed her and claimed that they had been sexually harrassed by Katsav at earlier periods of his career. There were even some that were so long ago that they preceded the statute of limitations.
There are two big problems with this situation, the number of complaints and the fact that it's the President they are dealing with, means that the police must be extremely careful how they gather and confirm the evidence. So it has taken months before the Attorney General Meni Mazuz has finally made public his intention to indict Katsav on the charges. But, even now he has not made his final decision, and this may take several more months.
The other problem is that the identities and stories of the accusers cannot be revealed. So while Katsav is being pilloried by the media and many politicians, his accusers are not even named or known to the public. It may be that the story of the main accuser is not credible, and Katsav vehemently denies everything. But, one would expect him to anyway. What did Pres. Clinton say, "I never had sex with that woman!" Well, really?
The implications of the situation are severe: a loss of belief in the system of Government by the citizens, a loss of prestige for the role of President, a loss of credibility for the country abroad. But on the other hand, did Pres. Clinton's little adventure with Monica Lewinski bring down the democratic system in the US. No, on the contrary, the fact that the system has laws and means to deal with such situations shows that the system actually works. Katsav will likely be indicted, will stand trial and will be able to refute the charges, and a panel of judges will decide based on the evidence. Note that in Israel we don't have juries of one's peers, but a panel of judges. For a significant case like the trial of the President there may be 5 or 7 judges, but usually there are three.
Katsav had a very deprived childhood, coming as an immigrant from Iran with his family in 1951 without anything. They lived in a refugee camp (ma'abara) like half the Israeli population then, and their camp became the town of Kiryat Malachi (City of Angels). Katsav's brother was drowned in a flood in the camp, but he went on to become the first person to achieve a degree and became the mayor at the age of 24. Once he was supported by Menachem Begin his political career was assured.
In his uncharacteristically angry press conference on Thursday, when he let loose the floodgates of his feelings that have been bottled up for months, Katsav blamed everybody else but himself. He specifically lambasted the media, the police and the judiciary. But, this won 't wash. Although the press are rarely fair, they have mainly been reporting the situation as it develops, and many people have been reserving their opinions until a trial actually takes place. But, his un-presidential behavior in this press conference even lost Katsav points. Netanyahu could teach him a lesson or two, instead of coming out and crowing "I told you so" about Olmert's and Peretz's behavior in the Lebanon war, Netanyahu has played it very quietly and diplomatically. He has definitely gained by this statesmanlike behavior and is now way ahead in the polls.
There is still a group of MK's, across party lines, that want to impeach Katsav. But, it seems unlikely that they could garner the necessary 2/3 majority in order to do so, and so the situation is that Mazuz will probably bring the actual indictment within three months, and then Katsav will probably resign formally, leading to a vote (in the Knesset, not of the people) for a replacement. At present Shimon Peres is the front runner, because he is old and wise, and PM Olmert backs him. Perhaps Olmert wants to boot him up to get him out of Kadima. Dalia Itzik of Labor has also announced she will not run in the election, so as to clear the way for Peres, her former mentor. But, Peres was considered a shoo-in last time, only to be beaten by Katsav. Peres has raised a storm because he has stated publicly that he knew about Katsav's proclivity back in 2000, but said nothing about it then. Many think he should have done. So nothing is sure, and there are other candidates, including the Likud's Reuven Rivlin. How this will play out is anybody's guess, but it seems that Katsav's political life is essentially over.
posted by Jack Cohen at 9:59 PM
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