Background Information about Moshe Katzav - Essay Example

Political Communication College: Background Information about Moshe Katzav Born on 1945 December in a family of eight siblings in Iran, Moshe Katzav was the eldest. He once lived as an immigrant in Israel in the camp following his travel from Iran. Katzav was born as Musa Qasab and rose to be a politician in Israel and later became the Israeli president between the years 2000 and 2007. Katzav was also one of the top members of the Knesset and was also one of the ministers in Knesset’s cabinet. His early school life was at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he graduated. Katzav got married to Gila Katsav in the year 1969. Their marriage bore five children. He joined politics and at the age of 24 years, he was elected as the mayor of Kiryat Mal’akhi on the Likud Party ticket. Katzav’s tenure as the president of Israel came to a halt in 2010 after one of the most damaging scandals in history that saw him serve a seven year prison sentence in Ramla’s Maasiyahu Prison. (Pirani, 2010). System of Government in Israel The system of government in Israel is one based on a democratic parliament where the prime minister heads the government and doubles up as the head of the multi party system. The state of Israel exercises the executive power and the Knesset is vested with the Legislative power. The Judiciary operates in an independent space, free from the legislature and the executive. Israel’s main principles and the entire political system operate under eleven basic laws. Israel operates without a written constitution. There is a president who is ceremonial as he does not have a clear political responsibility in the country. (Levy, 2007). At the executive level of governance, the prime minister is a political figure with the most authority and is elected by the legislature. The prime minister is charged with the responsibility of making policies which are later approved by the cabinet before they are enacted or adopted. Appointment of the cabinet is done by the prime minister on the basis of the political parties’ votes. These cabinet ministers are the heads of the various departments of government. The prime minister bears the powers of firing cabinet ministers, but replacements of the same must be approved by the Knesset. The president’s position is ceremonial, and he appoints judges ceremoniously after being elected. (Lazin, 2012). The legislature, Knesset, is unicameral and has a base in Jerusalem. It comprises of 120 members who are elected by the people on a 4 year term. The Knesset, just like other legislatures, has the powers to repeal and to enact laws through a simple majority rule. Various committees at the Knesset are established to check on the executive. Among the responsibilities of the Knesset are electing the Prime Minister, approving the cabinet and electing the president of the state. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and legislature. It constitutes religious and secular courts, and there are three different stages of justice. The judicial Selection Committee is the appointing powers of the judges. (CQ Press, 2008). The Scandal Katsav launched a complaint to Menahem Mzuz, Israel’s Attorney General, with regards to what he called blackmail from a female employee. As investigations were being carried on, the case took a twist with the employee alleging being sexually harassed by Katsav. The employee earlier worked with Katsav in the ministry of tourism. The lady made claims of having been raped twice by Katsav, and other series of sexual harassments. Consequently, Katsav was accused to have raped more than ten women. After raiding his house, sufficient evidence was gathered to prove that Katsav was guilty of the accusations. At that time, many people, media, politician and the civil society called for his resignation or suspension from public office. The case grew stronger when there were complaints and evidence from four different women concerning the rape and sexual harassment accusations. In the midst of this turmoil, Katsav maintained his innocence and assured the people to resign should the accusations be proven. (Mahmood, 2013). In 2007, January the 23rd, the Attorney General confirmed that charges would be the press with regards to witness harassment, obstruction of justice, breach of trust and sexual harassment. At that time, Katsav could not be tried because the law said that he was immune to trials until when out of office. His term was to come to an end in the month of August 2007. The indictment was awaiting Katsav’s confirmation of the place where the case would be presented. (Hilliard, 2009). Kstav greatly criticised the media’s handling and reporting on the case. He held a press conference on 24th January 2007, in which he accused the media and journalist at large of vendetta. He observed that the media was judging and persecuting him already even before all the evidence had been brought forth. He alluded to the fact that most of the media housed were hostile and not appreciative of his governance ever since he ascended to power. Katsav went ahead of criticising a media channel, Chanel 2, of carrying out a witch hunt on him. He held onto the fact that he was innocent and said that he would just suspend himself and not to resign until that time that he would be indicted. According to Jones(2014), after this speech, Katsav was widely and wildly criticised and condemned from many quarters. The legal figures, politicians, journalists among others expressed their dissatisfaction and condemnation of Katsav. This opposition and condemnation came from even within government, with Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, calling for the resignation of Katsav. Katsav opted for a three month leave from power. This was approved by the legislator. Dalia Itzik, the Knesset Speaker, took over the president’s office on 25th January following Katsav’s leave on a caretaker’s position. Eventually, an impeachment attempt on Katsav on the 7th of March 2007 failed. (Castells, 2013). He was charged for various sexual offences and rape that he had committed to many female employees who used to work for him. Katsav officially resigned from the presidency on the 1st of July 2007, with fourteen days to go to the end of his presidency term. Later in 2009, Lior, Katsav’s brother, referred to the indictment of Katsav as a blood lidel, condemning the move as very ruthless and perpetuated politically. Among Katsav’s charges were obstruction of justice, indecent assault, sexual harassment and two counts of rape. March 2011 saw the conviction of Katsav as he was found guilty of the charges. He was sentenced to a prison term of 7 years in prison, and probation of 2 years. He was also to pay compensation of up to 250,000 shekels and 100,000 shekels to two of the victims he had assaulted. (Stephen, 2007). The media reporting on the case The media of Israel enjoys freedom of reporting. Piriani(2010) observes that just like other countries, the freedom of the press in Israel is enshrined under the Basic Laws; however, reporting that spreads hate and violence is prohibited by the law. Despite the fact that Israel’s journalists operate with little restrictions, the Israeli government has placed restrictions on the journalists operating in the region from Palestine. The media was very vocal in Katsav’s case, openly condemning the actions of the president to the extent of being accused of vendetta by Katsav himself. This open criticism and reporting can be credited to the freedom of the press in Israeli. However, there are reports of the intimidation of the press and restrictions to what to report. This greatly affected the reporting on the case, making the information be insufficient. (Bowler, Shaun & Jeffery Sharp, 2004) Political effects of the scandal Katsav’s scandal had a great impact on the political landscape and general perception. The president as a unifying and moral figure of Israel is expected to act in high regard. This scandal dented this image, degraded Israel as a nation and tainted the ceremonial office of the presidency. It was an act of shame to the country. Cartoons of rapists were flaunted across the media in comparison to what the president did. There was a public outcry with regards to the plea bargain, with over 20000 people taking to the streets in demonstration of the injustices caused by the president. On a positive note, the case was like a proof of the independence of the judiciary and was a pride to Israel’s democracy. Ultimately, this scandal opened up the path for Ehud’s investigations which led to the downfall of the prime minister too. (Mahmood, 2013). Government’s Resolution Advocating for the resignation of President Katsav, the government observed that he had greatly disgraced the top office of the land. The legislators even threatened to paralyze activities of the state with many people from Moshe’s party in support of the condemnations. This is evident on the legislator’s attempt to dismiss Katsav from power from his own court. (Schott, 2008). Despite the conviction of Katsav, the process would have taken a more public way, as opposed to a private affair. The state would have made an elaborate publication of the case, to serve as an example to other highly rated leaders who would want to use their powers for selfish deeds. References Castells, M. (2013). Communication power. CQ Pres, (2008). Political handbook of the Middle East 2008. Washington, D.C., CQ Press. Hilliard, C. (2009). Does Israel Have a Future?: The Case for a Post-Zionist State: Washington D.C. Potomac Books, Inc. Jones, S. (2014). The Making of Modern Georgia, 1918-2012: The First Georgian Republic and Its Successors: New York, Routledge Lazin, F. (2012). Politics and Policy Implementation: Project Renewal in Israel: New York, SUNY Press. Levy, A. (2007). Summer rain. London, Psychology News. Mahmood, A. (2013).Saints and Sinners: India, HarperCollins Publishers. Piriani, S. (2010). Change in Putins Russia: power, money and people: London, Pluto Press.   Schott, B., Lovejoy, B. (2008). Schotts miscellany 2009: an almanac: New York, Bloomsbury. Stephen, P. Smoke& Mirrors. (2007). Lulu.com Read More