A major scandal is unfolding in Israel, and it’s already having internal political repercussions:
Israeli MPs today approved a request by the country’s president, Moshe Katsav, to temporarily step down from his post while he faces allegations of rape and sexual assault.
The Knesset house committee voted 13-11 to declare Mr Katsav “temporarily incapacitated” ahead of a decision by prosecutors on whether the president will face charges.
The parliamentary speaker, Dalia Itzik, has become acting president, the first woman ever to hold the post.
Mr Katsav, 61, who has been under investigation since last summer, denies any wrongdoing but has promised to resign if he is formally indicted. He offered yesterday to step aside temporarily.
Last night, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, called on Mr Katsav to resign immediately after the attorney general said he planned to charge him.
On Tuesday, the office of the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, said it had enough evidence to support charges against the president, including rape, harassment, sexual relations involving the abuse of power, obstruction of justice and illegally accepting gifts. Mr Katsav is allowed one last hearing before any charge is formally laid.
Some Israeli politicos are already looking into ways of removing Katsav permanently from office. This story promises to be an ongoing political drama. And, in the end, will it have any kind of impact on the government and the way it handles issues, given the country’s delicate political balance? Stay tuned…
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.