According to AB Yehoshua,
The recent episodes of corruption, I believe, are rooted in the division, beginning in 1967, of two altogether distinct sets of norms and values. On the one hand, the moral and jurisdictional principles of the democratic state have continued to be applied in Israel in accordance with the tradition of the rule of law. On the other hand, in the Palestinian territories, a new system of values has been progressively established.
Read the rest here
Sunday night update: Gershom Gorenberg’s view of the same topic here.
AB Yehoshua’s rationale here is not working. He claims there is a connection between the corrupting nature of the occupation and the recent outbreak of corruption among Israeli politicians, but he does not even attempt to spell out how the morally flawed mismanagement of the Palestinian territories causes elected politicians to become infected by avarice.
I am myself very impatient for the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including a withdrawal from most of the WB. Key reason for my longing is to finally get the Israeli people to feel secure, and clear a considerable space in the collective psyche for dealing with the many ills that plague Israeli society. This, as far as I can see, is the only relationship that I can establish between the Occupation and the sexual or personal self-indulgence of politicians.
When AB Yehoshua says that he does not
“ believe that corruption is coming to light just because law enforcement is somehow better, or because citizens, like the presidential staff who accused President Katsav of sexual crimes and harassment, are more courageous. What is coming to light is a much deeper evil, a loss of values within Israeli society and its government, such as never existed before.”
he simply does not make sense.
Scandals are exposed when people recognize that these scandals are a disgrace and an obstacle to the healthy functioning of any civil society. When a “deeper evil” typifies a society, the result is not more light, formal prosecution and punishment, but rather less transparency, more fear and more cover-ups.
I don’t know what he actually wants to say in this piece, what kind of connection he makes.
Many in the Arab world watched these investigations, being carried out in full light, the public eye, and they have drawn the correct conclusion, as we can see from a few quotes rounded up by the Jerusalem Post:
* Rashid Bohairi in Kuwait: “I swear Israel is a state that will succeed. They are prosecuting their prime minister because of tens of thousands of dollars. What about the millions of dollars that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority stole? How come the Palestinian people are still hungry?”
* Hani in Ramallah: “This is democracy at its best! Enough of dictatorship in the Arab world! Let’s learn from the Israeli example. Let’s benefit from Israel’s democracy.”
* Abu Yusef in Egypt: “Unfortunately, this is the real democracy. Our enemies are very good in practicing democracy. In the Arab world, our leaders steal everything and no one ever dares to ask a question.”
* Another comment, this time from Ahmed in Jordan, also referred to the alleged amount: “Only a few thousand dollars? What a fool! This is what an Egyptian minister gets in a day or what a Saudi CEO gets in 45 minutes, or a Kuwaiti government official in five minutes. This is what the physician of the emir of Qatar gets every 30 seconds.”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041432454&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull