_A.jpg "Photo: Eli Elgarat")
Don't worry about corruption
Political convictions don't change the system or improve it
I'm not going to lose any sleep over prime ministerial son Omri Sharon spending nine months in jail after his political corruption trial, but his conviction for violating political fundraising laws will do little to advance the cause of democracy or even good government.
Even in the U.S., which at least aspires to a political culture of openness and "sunshine," political corruption is rampant. Maybe my time in certain American cities known for their "colorful" political shenanigans has made me cynical, but political corruption, especially when it is only figuring out ways to get around arcane and ridiculous campaign finance laws, is small beans.
And our politicians aren't even as creative as certain old-time politicos I knew in the Old Country. A former mayor of Burlington, Vermont, once told me how he and his compadres grabbed Democratic Party power in the New England city. In sessions held in small firehouses and meeting houses the vote would be held by "dividing the house." So Gordon Paquette would line a group of burly friends up about two-thirds of the way from one wall and shove the crowd over, dividing the house in their favor.
We wouldn’t have a country if we followed all the rules
In Albany, New York, where I lived for 15 years, Democrats controlled City Hall and county government for more than 75 years in an unbroken string peppered by paid-for ballots and numerous other creative tricks.
I am confident "I" will still be voting Democrat in Albany long after I am gone and buried.
So, why am I not surprised when an amateur politician like Omri either bends or breaks the rules - rules that keep changing and aren't always enforced, equally or not.
And why should any of us be surprised when we live in a country where bending, flouting or breaking the rules - whatever they are - is a badge of honor. When was the last time you saw someone standing underneath a no smoking sign with a burning cigarette, driving the wrong way on a street or cutting a line at a bank or government office? Probably yesterday.
Does anyone here follow the rules? Doing so is likely to get you labeled a "fryer" (sucker) and someone who is unable to bring "protexia"(influence, juice) to bear on his behalf. Don't get me wrong; I'm no goody two shoes. I recognize we wouldn’t even have a country if we followed all the rules and waited patiently on line.
Who is going to run things?
But what has it left us with? Our political system is such that we can't even maintain the American definition of an honest politician: one who stays bought. The nature of parliamentary coalition politics is such that minor parties and individuals will slide to whichever party can offer them a better deal - even after a deal is already made. How many times has the Sephardic political party Shas changed sides? As many times as money has been proffered to it for its financially bankrupt school system. And why does it have its own school system, anyway?
Our Zionist ideals are one thing; our on-the-ground political system, with all of its incomprehensible ideological infighting, grows out of the dark and secret world of the late 19th century, when political activists in Poland and Russia were routinely and quietly jailed or even disposed of.
Our forefathers and mothers were masters of getting around whatever corrupt and dangerous systems in which they were living: Poland's, Russia's, the Ottoman Empire's.
So, is it any wonder that no one here is willing to play by the rules?
I wish Attorney General Mene Mazuz all the luck in the world purging our system of politicians who don't play the rules. Throw the book at Likud's Naomi Blumenthal, who gave away a hotel room in exchange for votes (horror!). Prosecute Minister Tzachi Hanegbi of Kadima for making political appointments improperly, and Knesset Member Shlomo Benizri of Shas for accepting bribes.
But when all the corrupt politicos are jamming the jails, who is going to run things? Business leaders? The 18 mafia-like families that own 32 percent of the total income of the country's 500 biggest companies, according to the latest research?
I'll take my chances with corrupt politicos over oligarchical business elites any day.
Alan Abbey is Founding Editor of Ynetnews. His website is www.abbeycontent.com, and his email is alan@abbeycontent.com
