It seems like waste of money seeing as they are appointed (not by the people), for purely ceremonial purposes. Would Peres have been appointed by the people.....NO! We have a PM......so whats the point of a president too?

The Israeli public did not vote for Katsav to be our president, he was voted in my MKs. The very same MKs who knew what he was up to. He was the goden child of the mizrahim and the religious and look what we got. It was then between Katsav and Peres. Peres has since become our president, agree or disagree with his politics he has become the best president this country has ever had. Katsav brought shame to the office of president and also the state of Israel. hope he is put behind bars where he belongs, maybe he could join the Sh-ass wing where i assured he will be amongst his friends.

The President of the State of Israel is not elected by the general population in a democratic election. He is elected only by members of the Knesset without any consultation with the general public. Similarly, the Prime Minister and all other government ministers are NOT elected directly by the public, but chosen in the back-room by politicians, regardless of the public's opinion about said individual and/or his qualifications. In fact, Israelis never vote for any individual - only "parties". Therefore, the Israeli government is never a direct reflection of the will of the Israeli public. Israel is, basically a virtual democracy; it is only a K'Elu (i.e. a mirage). It is a wonder why the media does not scream for direct elections of the Prime Minister and other key offices, and for true democracy. The media is a party to this scam.

A huge percentage of women have been sexually assaulted in their lives, not a few miserable women. Katzav was put in the position of President, instead of Peres, because of political party lines, the good of the country was not considered. Many people as well as many in the media knew of his behavior - there are a lot more Katzavs out there. And there are a lot more men in power who will keep ignoring justice to further their own agendas. We looked like fools the minute this unsuitable man was put in office. I personally hope that we are coming to a political tipping point where people realize that the current farce can not go on and that we have to act realistically and responsibilty to ourselves.

When the extreme Left realized that they had no chance of getting elected, they invented the direct elections. They figured they could elevate stars from nothing (Shahak, Mordechai, Barak, Rabin) and denigrate their opponents with false accusations (Shamir, Netanyahu). When Netanyahu defeated Peres they were shocked and brought back the current system. Remember the 18 months of hell under Ehud Barak's premiership. He lied to the electorate, surrendered to Arafat who started murdering civilians. As lame duck minister, Barak continued begging Arafat to accept Israel's surrender. As a parting dirty trick, Barak quit without new elections, ensuring a Leftist/Shas Knesset. For that reason, Netanyahu decided not to be PM, allowing Sharon to be PM with a Labor Party coalition. 20 reserve soldiers were murdered in Jenin thanks to Labor party ben Eliezer's decision to send them on foot into a Fatah ambush instead of using tanks. As a side note: the reason for Shas' power today is the direct elections. During the Rabin regime, voters saw that the Zionist opposition was incapable of defending Israel against the Left, but Shas was able to ensure that Israel remained a Jewish state despite the presence of Meretz in government.

The fact that the president was tried and his victims got justice is a very positive reflection on our society. The world doesn't need an excuse to have a bad opinion of us, they manage that without any fuel added to the fire, so those who hate us will continue to, and will wave this from their flagpole, and those who support us will continue to support us and wave this from their flagpole. Now, what's up with the obnoxious commercials on my Ynet page today? Is there a special on annoying sexist and obnoxious commercials in honor of January 1st?

I am inclined to agree with J3 why do we need a President? Katsav has already seen to it to bring down the name of President shamefully! It seems that all the ministers in high office are crooks. People be aware during elections, they could be all birds of the same feather.

IF Israeli voters had known that Katsav was a sexual predator BEFORE electing him, then it would indeed be a disgrace. I recall the French election between Chirac and Le Pen when all the pro-Chirac banners and posters proclaimed: "Vote for the crook and not the Nazi". A choice like that is indeed a national disgrace. The fact that Israel has shown the world that not even its President is above the law is something of which to be proud. In the USA, Nixon, Agnew, Clinton - none of them ever had to stand trial for various crimes. In the so-called democratic world, it is assumed by the "little people" that the big shots enjoy a special kind of immunity and impunity. Only Israel has shown that the beacon of Justice's light shines on all. The only disgrace in my opinion is that Olmert is not yet in the jail cell that Sami Kuntar used to inhabit.... but that might yet come to pass... I have faith in Israel - as does everyone who believes in justice.

In French they say :"Dis moi d'ou tu viens, je te dirais qui tu est" What is your envirement will ultimately dictate your personality and behaviour. The political culture in Israel is as such that transgression (Olmert, Rabin in the 70s...) of any value-moral context is permissible. You ought to lay the gauntlet at the foot of the "Sanhedrin" the Knesset which as we all know is polluting the quality of moral behaviour of the rest of the people, let alone the reps.

....born U.S. President with deep sympathies for the world of Islam and Saudi Arabia, only seven years after the 9/11/01 Muslim-terror attacks on U.S. soil and no one says boo! Unlike Israel, Katsav Americans knew Obama's troubling background and they elected him anyway. What a disgrace!

These men are old enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. The rapists, thieves and liars in our government all seem to develop a super invincible strength which is fuelled by their power and position. As long as the court treats them for the scum that they are, and not according to their job title, it will send a message to the rest of the them.

Compare Katsav or Ramon cases with Clinton numerous cases (see Wikipedia) or Berlusconi scandals. Israel just has higher moral standards then any western democracy. We have nothing to be ashamed of.

I have seen the comments in a left wing article. The comments say they see that there is justice and the rule of law exists in Israel. Some strech it to throw in "if only would only stop rapping the Palastinians" that is all but as far as the President they are happy that justice was served. The Jews always look bad on themselves. I just saw a movie about the Holocast in it Roosevelt is discourged by Jews not to bomb Auswitz or the tracks. Why? So the US fight against the Germans should not be a war for the Jews. Bergson says who does the matter to? The Germans, The Russians, The English? They are already in the fight. No it matters only to the Jews. What a pity.

and we get the reward with Katzav the rapist, Olmert the corrupted etc...

Come on, this bastard, if he did what he did, is the bum, not us. He should be castrated, not us. We do our best, if Katsav turns out to be a rapist, ya, it doesn't look so good, but face it, the other world rulers are just as corrupt they just have better technique.

As far as I can see, although the Katsav case has been widely reported in Australia, the Israeli democratic and legal processes have come in for praise. I n fact, Israel has been shown in a favorable light in this regard.

Since the Israeli public has absolutely no say in electing the Israeli president, we are not the ones to be held accountable. Blame those corrupt Knesset Members from Shas and Likud who knew about this animal's past antics, yet still pushed for him to be elected. And blame the media for keeping silent all that time.

While it is embarrassing and pathetic to have a former president convicted of rape, Israel has far worse stains on it's reputation. This article does Israel a disservice by acting as if this particular matter takes precedence over the much worse crimes that the nation of Israel perpetrates daily against Palestinians and others seeking justice.

Brauner's contention is ridiculous. many countries, including most of Western Europe have parliamentary elections. Very few countries use the American system. That there are so many parties is a reflection of the social divide in Israel and the relatively low minimum needed to get into the knesset. Americans really have to get over their belief that the American way is the only way.

Yes there was a rape. Katsav was raped by the Israeli media and the Israeli judiciary. There is not one scintilla of corroborating evidence that a rape was committed.. Why did the so called victim take nine years to come forward. The accusor remains protected by anonymity. Whatever happened to the rule of law and democracy which requires the accuser to make the charges publicly. This is a sad day for israel. The result, all israeli males are guilty of rape and may be convicted based on unsubstantiated, uncorroborated claims. Sounds like a Salem witch trial.

What a stupid column! Israel is responsible for the crimes of its leader? You mean---like the US was responsible for Clinton's infidelity etc? And Katsav's crime is on a par with Rabin's murder? Give me a break.

He is a go-getter. So what if he enjoys sex??He has been treated shabbily.

Nor embarrassed by what Katsav did or did not do.

Rape ?? I never heard such nonsense .The man was set up.

The American system is not ideal. But, it far and away beats what we have here. Believe it or not, it works better. Here, I don't elect anyone directly. The best I do is elect and amorphous party. Here, I have no personal representative; someone I can call up and say, "you are responsible to me because I put you in office. Now, act on my behalf." Israeli MKs are totally not beholden to anyone, other than their own party. That's democracy? In America, at least, you have a PERSONAL representative, and each elected official is responsible to his specific constituents. This concept is completed lost in Israel. Besides, I am irked by the fact that I had no say, as a voter, regarding the composition of the Government. It is constructed by coalition wheeling and dealing with total disregard to the public's will. And the media plays along.....

Seems Katsav has no self-control .Behavior unbecoming one in high office.

Israelis in the know must have had an inkling as to Katsav's nature before he was elected or appointed to high office .Therefore it was irresponsible to give the man power.

My comments were ,of course ,tongue-in-cheek .I just wish Katsav had kept his tongue in his own cheek .We have the right to expect decent behavior from elected officials.Anything less is embarrassing.