Israeli President to be Charged with Rape and Abuse of Power

JetsFan2012 · 01-23-2007, 10:33 AM

This is pretty interesting and somewhat shocking:

[QUOTE]JERUSALEM — Israel's attorney-general notified President Moshe Katsav on Tuesday that he plans to indict him on charges of rape and abuse of power, a stunning accusation against the country's ceremonial head of state.

A final decision on the indictment would be made only after Katsav is given the opportunity to present his case. If indicted, Katsav would be Israel's first sitting president to be charged with a crime.

The decision by Attorney-General Meni Mazuz came just days after authorities launched a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's involvement in the sale of a government-controlled bank in 2005. Several other high-level politicians have also been implicated in other scandals.

Katsav has denied the charges, stemming from complaints made by four women who worked for him during his tenure as president and, before that, as a Cabinet minister. Katsav has said he is the victim of a conspiracy by political enemies. The president's office said Tuesday it had no official comment.

Mazuz's office issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it had collected enough evidence to support an indictment against Katsav on charges of rape, harassment, sexual relations involving the abuse of power, obstruction of justice and illegally accepting gifts.

The president enjoys immunity while in office and could be tried only after his resignation or the end of his term, which is later this year. His lawyers had indicated he would resign if indicted.

Mazuz declined to recommend that Katsav be charged with wire tapping and selling pardons.

"I think that in the end things will become clear, and I don't think it will be what was announced today," David Mena, a friend of Katsav's, told Israel's Channel 2. "I'm sure the indictment will be softened."

Katsav's predecessor, Ezer Weizman, resigned in 2000, just before the end of his term, after the attorney general ruled that he had improperly accepted more than $300,000 in gifts from a French millionaire.

Weizman was never indicted. Other presidents had been viewed as relatively free of corruption and were expected to remain above the political fray after they took office.[/QUOTE]

Now, I don't know if this is true or not, and it could just be a low-blow political ploy to damage this guy's credibility. But let's just imagine for a minute that this was true and the President was convicted of those charges.

Given the traditional United States support for Israel, do you think this would further cause international opinion polls regarding the USA and President Bush plummet? It would be interesting to see how this case would affect the international opinion of the Israeli government, as well.

Jetdawgg · 01-23-2007, 11:07 AM

LONDON, Jan. 23 -- Global opinion of U.S. foreign policy has sharply deteriorated in the past two years, according to a BBC poll released on the eve of President Bush's annual State of the Union address.

Nearly three-quarters of those polled in 25 countries disapprove of U.S. policies toward Iraq, and more than two-thirds said the U.S. military presence in the Middle East does more harm than good. Nearly half of those polled in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East said the United States is now playing a mainly negative role in the world.

More than 26,000 people were questioned for the survey.

"It's been a horrible slide," said Doug Miller, president of GlobeScan, an international polling company that conducted the BBC survey with the Program on International Policy Attitudes, an affiliate of the University of Maryland. He said views of U.S. policy have steadily declined since the annual poll began two years ago.

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201300_pf.html[/url]

JetsFan2012 · 01-23-2007, 11:19 AM

[QUOTE=Jetdawgg]LONDON, Jan. 23 -- Global opinion of U.S. foreign policy has sharply deteriorated in the past two years, according to a BBC poll released on the eve of President Bush's annual State of the Union address.

Nearly three-quarters of those polled in 25 countries disapprove of U.S. policies toward Iraq, and more than two-thirds said the U.S. military presence in the Middle East does more harm than good. Nearly half of those polled in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East said the United States is now playing a mainly negative role in the world.

More than 26,000 people were questioned for the survey.

"It's been a horrible slide," said Doug Miller, president of GlobeScan, an international polling company that conducted the BBC survey with the Program on International Policy Attitudes, an affiliate of the University of Maryland. He said views of U.S. policy have steadily declined since the annual poll began two years ago.

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201300_pf.html[/url][/QUOTE]

indeed... now, about that Israeli president... :rolleyes:

Jetdawgg · 01-23-2007, 11:24 AM

[QUOTE=pauliec]indeed... now, about that Israeli president... :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Has to go through the process....He deserves a fair trial

Queens Jet Fan · 01-23-2007, 12:57 PM

The President of Israel is a figurehead and has no policy function. It will not affect anything other than being a big embarrassment. If the Prime Minister goes that's another matter. Policy will be affected by who replaces him. Right now Omert is very unpopular anyway due to the Lebanon war and would probably be replaced whether indicted or not.

Come Back to NY · 01-23-2007, 01:06 PM

[QUOTE=pauliec]indeed... now, about that Israeli president... :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

you expect boy genius to stay on the topic with his severe case of BDS???

Jetdawgg · 01-23-2007, 02:02 PM

[QUOTE=Come Back to NY]you expect boy genius to stay on the topic with his severe case of BDS???[/QUOTE]

You are so brilliant that you did ot see this in his post:

[COLOR=Blue][I]do you think this would further cause international opinion polls regarding the USA and President Bush plummet?[/I][/COLOR]

My answer was a direct response to that part of his text.... Read and then react....

The president has not had a trial yet and should get one. It does show that corruption may be as rampant as the Israeli people think it is...

01-23-2007, 10:33 AM	#1
JetsFan2012 Waterboy Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 0	Israeli President to be Charged with Rape and Abuse of Power This is pretty interesting and somewhat shocking: [QUOTE]JERUSALEM — Israel's attorney-general notified President Moshe Katsav on Tuesday that he plans to indict him on charges of rape and abuse of power, a stunning accusation against the country's ceremonial head of state. A final decision on the indictment would be made only after Katsav is given the opportunity to present his case. If indicted, Katsav would be Israel's first sitting president to be charged with a crime. The decision by Attorney-General Meni Mazuz came just days after authorities launched a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's involvement in the sale of a government-controlled bank in 2005. Several other high-level politicians have also been implicated in other scandals. Katsav has denied the charges, stemming from complaints made by four women who worked for him during his tenure as president and, before that, as a Cabinet minister. Katsav has said he is the victim of a conspiracy by political enemies. The president's office said Tuesday it had no official comment. Mazuz's office issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it had collected enough evidence to support an indictment against Katsav on charges of rape, harassment, sexual relations involving the abuse of power, obstruction of justice and illegally accepting gifts. The president enjoys immunity while in office and could be tried only after his resignation or the end of his term, which is later this year. His lawyers had indicated he would resign if indicted. Mazuz declined to recommend that Katsav be charged with wire tapping and selling pardons. "I think that in the end things will become clear, and I don't think it will be what was announced today," David Mena, a friend of Katsav's, told Israel's Channel 2. "I'm sure the indictment will be softened." Katsav's predecessor, Ezer Weizman, resigned in 2000, just before the end of his term, after the attorney general ruled that he had improperly accepted more than $300,000 in gifts from a French millionaire. Weizman was never indicted. Other presidents had been viewed as relatively free of corruption and were expected to remain above the political fray after they took office.[/QUOTE] Now, I don't know if this is true or not, and it could just be a low-blow political ploy to damage this guy's credibility. But let's just imagine for a minute that this was true and the President was convicted of those charges. Given the traditional United States support for Israel, do you think this would further cause international opinion polls regarding the USA and President Bush plummet? It would be interesting to see how this case would affect the international opinion of the Israeli government, as well.

01-23-2007, 11:07 AM	#2
Jetdawgg All Pro Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 6,718	Views on U.S. Drop Sharply In Worldwide Opinion Poll LONDON, Jan. 23 -- Global opinion of U.S. foreign policy has sharply deteriorated in the past two years, according to a BBC poll released on the eve of President Bush's annual State of the Union address. Nearly three-quarters of those polled in 25 countries disapprove of U.S. policies toward Iraq, and more than two-thirds said the U.S. military presence in the Middle East does more harm than good. Nearly half of those polled in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East said the United States is now playing a mainly negative role in the world. More than 26,000 people were questioned for the survey. "It's been a horrible slide," said Doug Miller, president of GlobeScan, an international polling company that conducted the BBC survey with the Program on International Policy Attitudes, an affiliate of the University of Maryland. He said views of U.S. policy have steadily declined since the annual poll began two years ago. [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201300_pf.html[/url]

01-23-2007, 11:19 AM	#3
JetsFan2012 Waterboy Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 0	[QUOTE=Jetdawgg]LONDON, Jan. 23 -- Global opinion of U.S. foreign policy has sharply deteriorated in the past two years, according to a BBC poll released on the eve of President Bush's annual State of the Union address. Nearly three-quarters of those polled in 25 countries disapprove of U.S. policies toward Iraq, and more than two-thirds said the U.S. military presence in the Middle East does more harm than good. Nearly half of those polled in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East said the United States is now playing a mainly negative role in the world. More than 26,000 people were questioned for the survey. "It's been a horrible slide," said Doug Miller, president of GlobeScan, an international polling company that conducted the BBC survey with the Program on International Policy Attitudes, an affiliate of the University of Maryland. He said views of U.S. policy have steadily declined since the annual poll began two years ago. [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201300_pf.html[/url][/QUOTE] indeed... now, about that Israeli president... :rolleyes:

01-23-2007, 11:24 AM	#4
Jetdawgg All Pro Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 6,718	[QUOTE=pauliec]indeed... now, about that Israeli president... :rolleyes:[/QUOTE] Has to go through the process....He deserves a fair trial

01-23-2007, 12:57 PM	#5
Queens Jet Fan All Pro Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Roslyn Posts: 6,797	The President of Israel is a figurehead and has no policy function. It will not affect anything other than being a big embarrassment. If the Prime Minister goes that's another matter. Policy will be affected by who replaces him. Right now Omert is very unpopular anyway due to the Lebanon war and would probably be replaced whether indicted or not.

01-23-2007, 01:06 PM	#6
Come Back to NY Making lotsa $$$ off obama's stupidity... Jets Insider VIP JetsInsider.com Legend Charter JI Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 31,407	[QUOTE=pauliec]indeed... now, about that Israeli president... :rolleyes:[/QUOTE] you expect boy genius to stay on the topic with his severe case of BDS???

01-23-2007, 02:02 PM	#7
Jetdawgg All Pro Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 6,718	[QUOTE=Come Back to NY]you expect boy genius to stay on the topic with his severe case of BDS???[/QUOTE] You are so brilliant that you did ot see this in his post: [COLOR=Blue][I]do you think this would further cause international opinion polls regarding the USA and President Bush plummet?[/I][/COLOR] My answer was a direct response to that part of his text.... Read and then react.... The president has not had a trial yet and should get one. It does show that corruption may be as rampant as the Israeli people think it is...