Great darkness in Paris

Barak’s hedonism during Paris visit symbolizes Israeli debasement

Reuters | Published: 10.18.09, 18:07

Kibbutz Mishmar Hasharon was established in 1933. Its founders, including Ehud Barak’s parents, lived in tents and huts. They were among the pioneers who settled the area. They dried up swamps, planted groves, and built a bakery. In the decade before they settled at the site they traveled across Eretz Israel, making a modest living by paving roads and planting orchards. During one of these ventures, almost all group members fell ill with malaria.

The journey made by Ehud Barak from his plain bed at the kibbutz to the suite in the InterContinental in Paris is the story of Israeli debasement. No symbol is more accurate. Here too we are talking about a malady – the illness of Nouveau Riche hedonism, preferably at the expense of the taxpayer.

The State Comptroller Office’s report, one of the most important in its history, was off when it determined that Barak slept in a bed that cost €2,500 per night. The truth is that the price was much higher. Members of the defense minister’s delegation to Paris wanted a suite that costs €1,800 per night. Hotel officials, who sensed they are negotiating with an especially generous and anxious client, bumped the price up to €2,500 per night. However, they had another demand – obligation to a six-night stay. And so what if Barak only needed four nights? In practice, the State of Israel paid a total of €15,000 for Barak’s room, that is, €3,750 per night.

Referring to prices in Euros also blurs the picture. After all, we live in Israel. The Euro exchange rate in mid-June 2009 was NIS 5.46. The implication is that Barak and his wife slept in a suite whose real cost was NIS 20,470 per night. More than double the average gross monthly salary in Israel. More than five times the minimum wage.

Barak’s favorite tactic

A year ago exactly, in a speech he delivered on the eve of the last elections, Barak declared: “We stand out from other parties based on our understanding that the time has come to replace the piggish capitalism of the Right with an approach that promises support through solidarity, sensitivity, and social responsibility.” Upon the publication of the state comptroller’s report, he rushed to order the establishment of a commission of inquiry. It sounds like a joke.

In addition, Barak was quick to adopt his favorable tactic from previous entanglements. Just like in past affairs, he heard nothing, saw nothing, and knew nothing. Everything happened below or above his radar, in a parallel universe.

Our expectations of Barak were low to begin with. Nobody demanded that he show ministerial responsibility or, heaven forbid, resign (as the Japanese finance minister did earlier this year after disgracing his post.) The minimum required of him was to stop hiding. The establishment he leads sinned by showing disgraceful wastefulness. Barak himself showed indifference and the kind of hedonism that drives any average person crazy.

However, the glorious fighter, the man who could “look the terrorist in the eye,” could not find the public courage required to look Israelis in the eye and seek their forgiveness. This abomination took place in Paris, the City of Light, yet it represents great darkness.