Politicians Worry Olmert Conviction May Taint Profession

Former cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi noted the existence of an actual Wikipedia entry on Israeli politicians convicted of various crimes.

Jerusalem, March 31 – Leading political figures reacted to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s conviction on corruption charges yesterday with concern that such a high-profile case of misconduct will tarnish the field’s reputation.

The Jerusalem District Court reversed an earlier acquittal of Olmert, this time ruling that in various capacities he had accepted bribes and breached the public trust. The initial corruption allegations forced his resignation from the premiership in 2009, and he has since been convicted in a separate bribery case stemming from a real estate deal when he was mayor of Jerusalem. Fellow elected officials now fear the public will view politics as an unsavory arena in which influence-peddling, nepotism, dishonesty, and obstruction of justice take priority over public service as a career.

“I got into this field years ago because of a drive to help the community and address issues that others were less willing to tackle head-on,” said Avigdor Lieberman, the Foreign Minister in the previous government and a prospective member of the incoming cabinet. “It’s not a given, of course, but there’s a good chance this man’s behavior will be exploited as a pretext to paint all politicians as venal, lying bastards. That bastard.” Lieberman was investigated for various corruption charges but ultimately not indicted, while dozens of his Yisrael Beiteinu colleagues face an ongoing probe.

Other political personalities echoed Mr. Lieberman’s sentiments. “It’s going to be tough, at least for the next several months, with the Olmert case hanging over our profession,” conceded Aryeh Deri of the Shas party. “We’re just going to have to keep doing what we’ve been doing, and hope the public eventually stops associating us with him and his activities.”

Israeli politics dodged several reputational bullets over the years, avoiding guilt by association despite a number of prominent figures jailed, dismissed, or forced to resign over various offenses. President Moshe Katsav, for example, stepped down amid sexual harassment and rape allegations stemming from his time as a cabinet minister, and was ultimately found guilty; he was sentenced to imprisonment, but the field of politics as a whole managed to escape being tarred with the “rapist” brush.

Whether or not politics escapes that fate in the aftermath of the Olmert convictions remains to be seen, but most Israeli officials are not optimistic. “This is going to be a hard one to live down,” said former Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson. “It almost doesn’t matter how the rest of us act now – people are going to assume that politicians can’t be trusted.”

As an indication of just how bad things are expected to get, former cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi noted the existence of an actual Wikipedia entry on Israeli politicians convicted of various crimes.