Olmert can back down now
It seems as if the director of Israel's political theater is promoting two similar plays, side by side. The story of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was convicted of breach of trust and accused of bribery, is competing for the headlines with former Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, who was already convicted of bribery and served a long jail sentence. Both are pondering how to take back the power in their respective parties, with Olmert aiming to lead the remnants of Kadima and Deri looking to replace Eli Yishai as the political head of Shas.
Much of Tuesday's news coverage belonged to the battle between Deri and Yishai over the leadership of Shas. Yishai received a slap to the face, rather than an affectionate pat by the ultra-Orthodox party's spiritual leader. At the home of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a fierce struggle is taking place. As hard as Yishai has been fighting to maintain his position, it appears that he has lost points. Yet the director of the political play brought a family to a circumcision at Yosef's synagogue, a family that expressed support for Yishai and asked, on national television, why a convicted criminal [Deri] should lead Shas. A planned coincidence.
But at the last moment, it was Olmert who again grabbed the focus of attention. The State Attorney's Office did what needed to be done a long time ago and announced it would appeal Olmert's acquittals and sentencing, meaning that Jerusalem District Court judge Musya Arad and her colleagues won't be the final arbiters in Olmert's corruption cases. Legal eagles were revolted by Olmert's acquittals and sentencing, as were police officials.
The State Attorney's Office was happy to calmly examine the matter until it realized that Olmert had played their office, and the court, for fools when he asked for clemency, claiming that he was not a public figure. This is what prompted Tuesday's announcement that a wide-ranging appeal would be filed. Even the sophistry of Judge Arad & Co. on the flight tickets in the Rishon Tours case was puzzling.
By finally doing the right thing, the State Attorney's Office gave Olmert a chance to back down from the non-normative path of returning to politics while he is still under the cloud of bribery accusations. But Olmert may accuse the State Attorney's Office of conducting a politically-motivated witch hunt, delusionally ignoring the fact that he has been tried and convicted, and still run for prime minister.
Former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, who is set to meet with Olmert on Wednesday, may find the conversation unnecessary. Livni cooperated with Ehud Barak in the maneuver that led to Olmert's resignation from the prime minister's post. That brought Olmert's wrath upon them. Olmert's bridge with Barak has been completely burned.
The current political situation will continue until the Likud and Labor primaries. Omer Bar-Lev, the son of the Israel Defense Forces' eighth Chief of Staff Haim Bar-Lev, has been brought under the wing of Labor chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich, but he is not the answer to Labor's need for politicians with credentials on security issues. This is also the case regarding the addition of Yaakov Perry to the Yesh Atid party. Perry's successful stint as the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has been diminished by his life amongst the tycoons and his refusal to cut the excessive salaries of officials at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot, where he served as chairman until yesterday.
To be continued ...
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