Attila Somfalvi
צילום: גבי מנשה
And the silence goes on
Fear of messing with FM Lieberman keeps politicians silent
Not even two years have passed since our defense minister decided to end the political career of our prime minister on the basis of one early testimony by Moshe Talansky – yet the defense minister's mouth and nose are apparently sealed in the face of the public stench that rises from the many affairs our current foreign minister is involved in; we hear no hint of protest.
When Barak urged Olmert to resign and focus on his legal affairs, Olmert's legal situation was much less clear than Lieberman's; Olmert was not facing an indictment or a police recommendation to file an indictment against him. There was only one testimony filled with contradictions, coupled with an unprecedented public and media storm that doomed the prime minister politically.
Nonetheless, Barak stabbed the man who helped him greatly in returning to the political arena in the back (as some people referred to it), demanding that the prime minister immediately depart from the political establishment. Barak threatened to dismantle the coalition and call for elections, dragging Kadima into a whirlwind of primaries and dismissal.
Embarrassing compromises; flawed norms
Yet this time, Barak is silent. All requests for a response were rejected with determination; the defense minister's office offered a "no comment." Other senior ministers are also silent.
A year after the general elections, members of Netanyahu's coalition don't feel an urgent need to maintain the rule of law even for appearance's sake. In an era where a Defense Ministry delegation spends hundreds of thousands of shekels on hotels in Paris, nobody is bothered by a foreign minister who travels around the world and represents Israel while carrying a pile of probes on his back.
The fear of messing with Lieberman is so great that no significant politician dares present question marks over the continued service of the foreign minister; after all, when it comes to Israeli politics one never knows when and with whom one would need to form a coalition, finalize political deals, and maintain quiet and a convenient and stable government.
The cynical silence of the politicians, who again prefer to wait and see where the public wind is blowing - in the face of what appears to be another embarrassing entanglement by our top statesman - raises difficult feelings. So is it any wonder that the embarrassing compromises of today turn into the flawed norms of tomorrow?
