Tartman: People commit suicide over these things

VIDEO - MK Esterina Tartman launched her counteroffensive on Wednesday afternoon, more than a day after the Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper exposed the fabrication of her Masters degree. "Things are being completely distorted," she said. "Weaker people than I would have ended their lives I'm beginning to understand Ofer (Housing Minister Avraham Ofer, who committed suicide following an embezzlement investigation against him in 1977)." In an interview to the Nfc website Tartman said: "I never wrote that I have a Masters degree. The information posted by the Knesset on this matter is erroneous and was not provided by me. It is true that in a television interview, in the heat of the moment, I slipped and said I have a Masters, but meant to say Masters' studies." By late Tuesday afternoon it appeared that she had also fabricated her Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance management and had never worked as deputy director of the Yahav Bank but only as a deputy department manager. Tartman said that after her studies at Bar Ilan for the Yahav Bank, she decided to pursue an academic degree in accounting and finance management from Touro College. "I have a degree, and it is recognized by the Council for Higher Education," she said. The Israel Our Home MK said that during her Masters' studies she suffered greatly from her spinal injury. "So as not to be dependant on anyone I wanted to continue learning. I went on to my Masters, even though I was working full time at Yahav Bank. "Towards the end of my studies, and due to the physical pain I turned to the university administration and asked to put my studies temporarily on hold so that I would be able to resume them at an appointed time," she said. Lieberman: I don't conduct polygraphs Tartman also slammed Amnon Abramovitch, the journalist who broke the story regarding her disability stipends and said Tartman has stated she is only able to work four hours a day. Tartman said Abramovitch lied purposely to harm her. "Abramovitch himself is crippled after being burned during his military service, but he earns a salary and gets a stipend. How does he have the audacity to score a headline at my expense? Abramovitch allowed himself to behave like this to foil my appointment to the cabinet," she said. Israel Our Home chairman and Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman defended Tartman on Wednesday morning, but sounded somewhat less enthused later in the day: "No one is questioning our integrity. Israel Our Home is not the Civil Service Commission or the Shin Bet, I do not give candidates a polygraph tests. My assumption is that what they say is the truth, sometimes mistakes happen." On her appointment as tourism minister he said, "Whatever we decide, we will decide together. At the moment she is Israel Our Home's candidate for tourism minister and no other decision has been made." Earlier Lieberman said: "There is a loss of proportion here, an intoxication of the media. There is someone to prey on, someone to flagellate," said Lieberman.

Tartman: People commit suicide over these things

(VIDEO) In first response to scandal over false academic degrees MK Esterina Tartman says: 'Weaker people would have ended their lives over this.' Party chairman Lieberman: 'I don't give candidates a polygraph test, sometimes errors happen; she's still our candidate for tourism minister'