Stand behind the guardians of the law

The Israeli presidential race has turned lemons into lemonade. True, it may not be as sweet as one would hope, but the artificial sweetener does the job just fine, and with less calories.

This has been an ugly campaign. That one of the candidates allegedly hired private investigators to dig up dirt on MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) is a disgrace. But the information that brought Ben-Eliezer down may have come to light as part of the ongoing corruption probe surrounding the Ashdod port. If the latter is the case, it means Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein made the right call by summoning the presidential hopeful for an interrogation (which culminated with Ben-Eliezer dropping out).

There is no point in trying to explain away corrupt behavior. The Israeli public, especially the sons of light and those who consider themselves the guardians of the rule of law, are sick and tired of suspects and their fairy tales; we are sick and tired of watching those politicians lament on how the State Attorney's Office is out to get them.

A few weeks ago it was former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who cried foul. Now it is Ben-Eliezer. Somehow, those who come under scrutiny always use the same nomenclature. Without fail, they all stress that they were never bribed, they just took out "a loan." And they somehow always end up writing letters of recommendation for their benefactors: Olmert provided a letter for American businessman Morris Talansky; Ben-Eliezer reportedly wrote a letter praising Avraham Nanikashvili. Just follow the money.

The electoral rough and tumble may be ugly, but it has become a rather effective screening mechanism. Even if Ben-Eliezer is as pure as the driven snow, no Israeli would want to have as the next president a former MK and cabinet minister who borrowed $400,000 and has yet to repay his lender, some three years after he took the loan.

On Sunday, Israelis learned that presidential hopeful Dalia Itzik had another apartment registered under her name, on top of the two that she had already disclosed. This revelation was the work of Eldad Yaniv, a lawyer who worked for various politicians. A wise Itzik instructed her accountants to release her financial disclosure statements. Yaniv's revelations brought back memories of the scandal Israel Hayom's Mordechai Gilat helped expose, together with Haim Rivlin and Amit Segal from Channel 2 and The Marker, which centered on the renovations Itzik carried out in her private residence. Several years ago, then-Knesset Speaker Itzik billed the Knesset for the re-flooring of her apartment, claiming her home also served as her official residence. She ultimately reimbursed the state, even though she insisted there was no misconduct on her part.

Digging up dirt may be an unpleasant ordeal, but this ensures candidates have their past exposed to the disinfecting sunlight.

Itzik's past conduct -- her alleged misuse of public funds, and her active membership in the pro-Olmert lobby -- has rendered her unfit for the office she is seeking. Even when the Tel Aviv District Court said Olmert was bribed, she was not bothered, let alone shocked. Unlike District Court Judge David Rozen and his courageous stance, when Itzik was exposed to some of the worst cases of corruption in Israeli history, she simply shrugged. That is why she is unworthy of the job. In fact, she must not be allowed to set foot in the President's Residence because she might use this position to pardon Olmert, should he begin serving his sentence come Sept. 1 (or later, if the sentence is stayed throughout his appeal). I would like all the candidates to pledge that they will not pardon public officials who have been convicted of bribery, embezzlement or breach of trust.

As of Sunday, MK Meir Sheetrit should be held to the same standard as the others. He has so far been the candidate of "no." He has refused to release the content of the mysterious out-of-court settlement he struck with his former housekeeper, and he has not disclosed his financial records and assets. The bleeding hearts in his party -- Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz, MK Amram Mitzna and MK Elazar Stern -- are apparently going to vote for their stealth candidate. This says a lot about their character, or lack thereof.

That is why we are left with former Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner (who is also the Israel Press Council president), MK Reuven Rivlin and Nobel laureate Professor Dan Shechtman. Let's hope the two contenders who ultimately face each other in the runoff election emerge from this trio. If these are indeed the finalists, we can once again say that we have turned lemons into lemonade.