In the state of Israel even the corruption is holy. Kosher corruption. The narrative reads something like the America in the wild and wooly days of the political mudslinging in the Mark Twain era. The bare knuckles brawling and verbal crap shoot that would see a figure like say, Diamond Jim Brady or another style of stock swindler elected to the treasury Board. In Israel a convict may enter politics after being out of prison for seven years. its like a Law of Return. A sabbatical of extended proportions. Imagine if the Shas party gets Finance.A convicted embezzler like Aryeh Deri could be in charge of the cookie jar. The defenders of the law, like Kafka’s hunger artist slowly dissipating into ether, claim the law demonstrates mercy. In a country where at best, a handful or a hanful and a half families control nearly everything, it is not surprising to improvise as the need arises.
The card Aryeh Deri is playing is the belief that there’s racism towards Sephardi Jews in Israel, which is not false and is longstanding; however the antidote to this is to make sure that his party, Shas, is even more racist towards Russian Israelis, to make sure they are beneath them on the pecking order. In a certain sense, if you If you ever wanted to know what’s wrong with Israel, take a look at the quality of the 120 faces sitting in parliament. A look at who is elected and leading, and one sees a very disturbing face of the country….
get out of jail free based on good behavior….click image for source…In Israel even the corruption is holy….
ADDENDUM:
(see link at end)…An ultra-Orthodox party has brought back a popular former leader after a 13-year absence that included jail time, a move that could draw votes away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s January election.
The religious Shas party announced late on Wednesday that Aryeh Deri, 53, had joined its new triple-headed leadership for the January 22 national ballot that opinion polls predict will give Netanyahu a new governing mandate.
But Shas and Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud both draw support from religious Jews of Middle Eastern descent, and Deri’s return could steer votes away from the prime minister’s party….
—“I am in favor of changing the election system. I want direct voting for the role of prime minister, similar to the method employed in the Unites States,” Deri said.
“I am in favor of canceling the haredi parties, and for regional elections with the president or prime minister appointing professional and not political ministers,” Deri told the haredi students. The former Shas chairman noted, “Under the current system, the minority has no other way to protect itself.” —click image for source…
Known in Israel for his quick wit and charm, the soft-spoken Deri had a meteoric rise in Israeli politics. He was appointed interior minister in 1988, becoming Israel’s youngest ever cabinet member at the age of 29.
Deri joined Yitzhak Rabin’s government in 1992 and his party gave crucial backing to the late Labor leader when he sought parliamentary approval for the Oslo peace accord Israel signed with the Palestinians in 1993.
But Deri’s downfall began soon after, when the Supreme Court ordered him to resign from the cabinet in 1993 over corruption charges. He stayed on
Shas leader until 1999 when he was sentenced to three years in prison for taking bribes.Shas, which controls 11 of parliament’s 120 seats, receives guidance from a 92-year-old sage, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who gave his blessing to the leadership deal that forces Interior Minister Eli Yishai to share power with the more dovish Deri.Read More:http://news.yahoo.com/jail-deri-comeback-stirs-israeli-election-campaign-151036902.html
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