Justice Beilin style - if you're a politician, the country shouldn't suffer you being punished. How sickening.

After allowing the "rapists" calling themselves "Palestinians" to not only have a State but to do so on land they stole and ethnically cleansed....what's one more rapist on the street?

Pardon Katsav? no way, he needs to pay for the crimes he committed, whether he was the President or the school janitor.

you have proven it with your actions and ideas for years. Why would you want to cement it even more escapes me. Intellectual provocateur you're not, so what's your "angle" ...???!

It is an honorable job with honorable people. The past president filled an honorable position but he was *&%. As for Beilin, I admire his intellect (but never agreed with him), but I never admired his elitist view.

What's Beilin hiding? Why would any leftist even dream of uttering such an extremist comment to pardon Katsav, a convicted rapist, just because he was president? This is just more confirmation of the corruption of the principles of the left. The best lesson for all those other elected officials is to see Katsav behind bars. I don't want any elected official to get the idea that Beilin will be there to get them out of jail. The best deterrent for other officials is to make sure Katsav gets a severe jail sentence. If I were a leftist, I would be embarrassed by Beilin and quick to disassociate myself from his statements. Beilin's suggestion is an absurd and ludicrous idea to promote the concept that elected officials can break the law and expect their sentence to be commuted by cronies like Beilin.

if yossi beilin worries about moshe katsav and wants him out of jail, he also can worry about gilat shalit, mordechai vanunu (they must leave him alone now.) and about the thousands of palestinian prisonners in zionist/jewish or jewish zionist medinat yjsrael!

A man, regardless of his title, that is convicted of rape needs to serve time in jail. If he is pardoned because of his public service, the victims are again victimized and the message is that the privileged class can escape justice. How was it that Beilin served as a Justice minister?!?!?!?!?

Every job is honourable, from the top of the ladder to the bottom !

Does Beilin have something to hide? Why else would he advocate public figures not going to prison for crimes? You do the math.

Pardon Katzav? For his abuse of power, his sentence should be doubled!

We should have respect for the Country Even if we do not have for Katsav.

to jail him? Anyone got any ideas how to punish the man through his own purse instead?

Was it rape or was it consensual sex? If it was latter then I agree - public humiliation is plenty enough.

Am not a leftist, and even used to hate Beilin, but he showed now he is really Dr, culture of an educated man. Media or other well " thinking " have to STOP SHOOTING TO THE AMBULANCE. Katzav is you , me , all Israelis, the ex-president, our blood, our proud for Israel, and you want to send him to clean W.C of the prison? Stop being exceptionalist, look the world, get away of this complexe of trying to show of. Hilary forgave to her husband Bill, and look where she is now. Zahava would dream to be on her place. Look Jacque Chirac, with all he made while being Mayor. Everybody know what they did, but there a National Proud, as the English say : RIGHT OR WRONG, MY COUNTRY. Bravo Dr. Beillin, am proud of your thinking.

Be proud.You have a government and justice system that handled the matter in a proper lawful way and spared no quarter on who he is.You have no reason to be ashamed,He was the one who let you down..Banish him to prison.Goodbye.

Hey, americans! You have a president whom you vote after his proved affair in White House. All world knew details. Katzav's case doesn't look like so clear.

for a woman's behavior if she is being raped.

respecting the Butcher's victims, not the Butcher himself. Go to jail, it will be the example we need to force the respect of the rules among the whole society.

katsav was raped by the israeli media and Judiciary. there is not one shred, scintilla of corroborative evidence that a rape occurred. One person's word against another. There needs to be a new public trial where the accusors stands before the court not hiding behind anonymity and the judges are not biased. The trial was an unseemly miscarriage of justice. Why did the victim wait nine years to come forward? The katsav trial was like the Dreyfus trial in France. The victim, Katsav was guilty in order to satisfy the cheloni leftist hatred of Judaism and the Jewish people. Katsav, like dreyfus was a scapegoat.

It is indeed a sad state of affairs seeing a former head of state in the slammer. That should never have happened, but it did. Now justice has been served and consequently, it must be seen. Damage has already been done and trying to use "damage-control" is not the right thing to do here and now.

Otherwise, how do we know there is true justice? How can we discourage similar crimes among the other ministers? How can Israelis live in a country that rapists are not punished? Look at the news, there are so MANY rapists roaming around, destroying lives of children and youth. THE COUNTRY HAS TO STOP THIS TREND OF ALLOWING RAPISTS TO LIVE IN THE SOCIETY. i am sorry that he has to go to jail at this age. But he has to. For the sake of Israelis who believe in goodness and justice. This former justice minister does not understand justice nor what Israel needs. Shame on him to say such statement.

IN SINGAPORE, WE DID NOT SPARE THE PRESIDENT ONG TENG CHEONG DESPITE THE FACT HE HAD GOOD TRACK RECORD. WHEN YOU COMMIT BLUNDER YOU SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE. IN THIS CASE- EX- PRESIDENT KATSAV COMMITTED RAPE- CRIME MIND YOU. THE PRESIDENT HAS NO SOVEREIGN PREROGATIVE POWERS TO COMMIT RAPE . ISRAEL IS BEGINING TO BE L;IKE THE MALAYSIAN POLITICIANS. NOW LISTEN, BILINI HAS THERE EVEN BEEN A CASE I YOUR TIME THERE WAS JUDICIAL REVIEWABILITY OF PROSECUTORAIL DISCRETION WHICH REFERD TO THE NATURE EXTEND OF PROSECUTION AN DTEH AG'S PARTICIPATION ? CAN YOU SHOW ME THAT THE THERE ARE GROUNDS FOR TEH COURT TO INTERFERE ON FACTS THAT THERE WERE ANY FORM OF FLAGRANT IMPROPRIETY OF MALLICIOUS PROSECUTION ON THE AGS PROSECUTORIAL DESCRETION ? WOULD YOU INTERFERE WITH THE JUDICIARY AND ITS INDEPENDENCE ? tHE JUDICIARY WILL ONLY INTERPRET THE LAW AS IT IT, IN THIS CASE OG KATSVA THERE IS NO SPECIAL TREATMENT ! DONT ABUSE MULTIFARIOUS FUINSTIONS- MAYBE YOU GUYS DONT KNOW THE LAW ! AS A JEW I AM DISAPPOINTED WITH BEILIN FROLICS ! BENJAMIN SINGAPORE

PROF, YOU TELL ME, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE DISGRACE DONE BY KATSVA TO THE VICTIM ? TELL ME IS THERE A LAW TO SHUT THE MOUTHS OF THE PUBLIC ON ' TRUTH '' THE FACTS AND LAW AND THE TURTH THAT KATSAV IS A SERIAL RAPIST " SHOULD THE LAW TREAT KATSAV WITH SPECIAL TRETMENT WHEREAS ALL OTHER CRIMINALS IN THE SAME STANCE TO BE SEVERELY PUNISHED IN ACCORDANCE TO THE WRITTEN LAW. DO YOU THINK JUDICAIL DESCRETION SHOULD BE APPLIED HERE FAVORABLY FOR KATSAV ALONE ? WHAT RULE OF LAW ARE YOU PATRONISING ?

Excuse my Vernacular aussie slang here: So let me understand this PERES shafts KATSAV because it suited him to be PRESIDENT KATSAV REFUSE TO TAKE IT BENDING OVER PEACIBLY AND SO THE STATE PROSECUTOR TAKE IT TO COURT, THEN OFFERS A CASE OF PARDON FOR STATE HONOUR!!

The whole case was whacky from the beginning, reeking with political and media interference. There were contradictions and changing stories on both sides, but the judges decided to believe "aleph" and and ignore the serious flaws in her story and to believe that therefore Katzav was lying. I'm not at all convinced that any rape was commited. From everything we know about the case there IS reasonable doubt that it was. I have never agreed with Yossi Beilin before, but this time I think he's on the right side.