What else could we expect from Katsav?

“No man can incriminate himself,” and “Every person looks after his own interests,” are two rabbinic principles that have influenced Jewish law for centuries. What right do we have then to criticize the conduct of our former President Moshe Katsav? Is it not natural for him to do what he can to escape the rule of law, or at the very least, to weaken its effects-

It is impossible to complain that his conduct is inappropriate. When Katsav recently hired private investigators and detectives -- one of whom is a former criminal -- the honor of a former state president was no longer at stake, and there was no expectation that he would behave like a senior public figure, but like a convicted rapist, an obstructer of investigations, and a man who has been severely castigated by the district court. Behavioral norms no longer apply to this man.

Katsav surely knows that the public's expectations of him are minimal, and this must be both a comfort and a curse. So it is especially puzzling that Supreme Court Justice Yoram Danziger has sympathized with Katsav by postponing the start of his prison term. No other criminal handed down such a lengthy sentence (seven years) would dream of receiving such special treatment, and if Katsav had been put behind bars when he was originally sentenced, this entire affair of private investigators and witness harassment would likely never even have seen the light of day.

What actually happened behind the scenes with the former president's cronies remains unclear. If the police truly suspect a crime -- Katsav is now accused of harrassing witnesses in a bid to persuade them to contradict original testimony -- they should certainly act using the full extent of the law. Obstruction of justice is a particulary pervasive Israeli poison, and police involvement remains the only true antidote.

This does not mean that police have to have full proof of anything at this stage. A reasonable suspicion is all that is needed to investigate anyone, even a former president. But Katsav is experienced and knows how not to incriminate himself, and the investigators and detectives around him know that even if Katasav bought a prohibited service from them, they must defend him for the sake of future clients.

Even if no crime was committed or concealed, I believe an indictment is unlikely to surface in this case. It is enough, however, if this case instills fear in the hearts of potential future criminals.

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