His reputation in shambles from a sex scandal that broke a year ago and swelled in subsequent months, Israel\’s outgoing president, Moshe Katsav, put an end to the sordid chapter by agreeing to a plea bargain after months of insisting he was innocent.
Almost 25 years ago, I read a one-line description of Jewish leadership that has haunted me ever since. The author, whose name I have repressed, wrote: \”Only a confirmed anti-Semite could believe that the Jewish people have the leadership they deserve.\” I protested his statement then, but I am not sure I can disagree now.
Just when you think it can\’t be any more topsy-turvy in Israel than it already is, the president addresses the nation with nonsensical shrieks and accusations in a parody of leadership so bizarre that you wonder whether the Jewish state has turned into Wonderland.
Even if Olmert is innocent, critics say he won\’t be able to govern because he\’ll be too busy trying to clear his name.
Mahmud, 24, and I, met at a Moroccan falafel place near Dupont Circle on a surprisingly sunny December afternoon. I\’d guarantee that even if you looked carefully around the D.C. area, you would find very few \”couples\” like us — a Palestinian from Nablus, and an Israeli from Herzliya, talking with such sincerity for more than two hours, catching up on life. A week prior to our meeting, Mahmud had returned from a visit to Nablus, his hometown, after four years away living rather comfortably in the United States. The story I heard that sunny afternoon accounts for why Hamas won the Palestinian elections in such a landslide.
Surrounded by seven young children, Yehuda Richter tells me over Shabbat lunch how he decided to move from Los Angeles to Elon Moreh, a settlement on the outskirts of the place Jews call Shechem and the Arabs call Nablus.
Specifically, Abramoff allegedly using money from a Washington charity he oversaw to fund military-style programs in the West Bank. Indian tribes donated money to tax-exempt charities, believing they were supporting anti-gambling foundations, but the money was redirected to help a \”sniper school\” in the West Bank, operated by a friend of Abramoff.
The appointment of new commanders to lead a reformed Palestinian Authority security force would seem to be a step toward meeting one of the Palestinian Authority’s key obligations under the “road map” peace plan.
The still-simmering flap over forged endorsements for Mayor James Hahn is the classic scandal that didn\’t have to be. A little more than a week ago, this incident grew from niche story — something that only Jewish Journal readers might notice — to the week\’s hottest local political fracas, with widespread coverage in newspapers and on radio and TV.
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