"There's no legal reason preventing her appointment," said government officials close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday following the disclosure of designated Tourism Minister Esterina Tartman's (Israel Our Home) falsified academic degrees.
According to Olmert's associates despite Tartman's problematic standing with the public there is no legal reason to bar her from being appointed to the government. The legal cutoff for a cabinet position is a conviction and three months imprisonment.
Olmert's decision leaves the ball in Tartman's home court and it will be Israel Our Home chairman Avigdor Lieberman who will decide whether to allow Tartman to keep the appointment. Lieberman, who is also the minister for strategic affairs as well as deputy prime minister, is scheduled to return from an official visit to Moscow on Tuesday night.
Tartman herself has yet to comment on the allegations. Fellow party members are also adhering to her policy and none have come forward to condemn her.
Lieberman to comment on Wednesday
Lieberman will speak with Knesset reporters about the scandal on Wednesday afternoon following a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting earlier in the day. Sources say Lieberman has been briefed on the matter but it is too soon to speculate what his final decision will be.
In the meantime Israel Our Home's website has undergone a tumultuous day; initially the party only made revisions to Tartman's resume, but ultimately had to remove it completely from the website.
On Tuesday, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper exposed Tartman’s fabrication of a Masters degree. By late afternoon, it appeared that she had fabricated her Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance management as well.
Tartman’s associates refused to comment, but stated that the claims were merely attempts by her political rivals to taunt her for her opinions.
Bar Ilan University administrators said they could not find her name on a list of undergraduates going back to 1977, adding that they would prefer it if Tartman confirmed or denied the claims herself.