Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., August 01, 2008 Tamuz 29, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:31 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

The investigations / The cost of miscalculation By Amir Oren Tags: Israel, Ehud Olmert, Knesset Ehud Olmert admitted last night that his gamble had failed. As usual, he was incapable of actually telling the truth, but the meaning was clear: The confusion that he himself created between the public and the legal tracks had worked to his detriment rather than his benefit. Olmert tried to create the impression that the growing likelihood of an indictment is what toppled him. In his version, a few evil people conspired to oust him. But that is utterly false. The only person who endowed the putative indictment with the power to force him to resign was Olmert himself, with his public statement three months ago that "I never took a penny for myself." The law requires a prime minister to resign only three months after a district court has convicted him of a crime involving moral turpitude. Thus an attorney general who signs an indictment against a premier is not setting the seal on his ouster; he is merely sending the issue on to the next station. But Olmert was familiar with the weakness that Menachem Mazuz had demonstrated in previous cases, so he doubled the bet: He persuaded the politicians to keep quiet and await Mazuz's decision, and when the moment for this decision came, he intended to intimidate Mazuz. Advertisement But this calculation ignored a long list of factors. One was the many tracks his alleged crimes had left, in Shula Zaken's computer and in the archives of the Rishon Tours travel agency. Another was the decision by senior law enforcement officials to keep the investigation under wraps until Olmert had been questioned, so that he would incriminate himself by telling lies. And finally, there was Morris Talansky's deposition, which placed a heavy burden on the politicians: If they did not repudiate Olmert, they, too, would be stigmatized as corrupt. Instead of the legal and political tracks diverging, as Olmert had hoped, they began converging. Tomorrow, Olmert is due to be questioned again. Three weeks later, the police are expected to finish reviewing the evidence and pass it on the prosecution with a recommendation to indict Olmert and Zaken. Olmert will not be able to claim that he put an end to his political career by deciding not to run in the Kadima primary; he will leave under the cloud of a draft indictment. His hope that Mazuz would save him has proven vain: Olmert, by blinking first, has instead saved Mazuz. Olmert is being kicked out, suspected of aggravated fraud and receiving illicit funds. In the end, it is the criminal investigations, not the castrated investigation into a failed war, that will remove him from the office he reached by accident, thanks to Silvan Shalom's refusal to trade the Finance Ministry for the title of vice premier. Thus even before he stands on trial, justice has been done: Olmert is now paying all the debts of his past, which he accumulated through cupidity, hedonism and forgetfulness about the minor distinction between the public purse and his private one. After Brig. Gen. Rami Dotan was convicted, his picture disappeared from the portrait gallery for former heads of the air force's procurement division. It will be hard to similarly erase Olmert from Israel's history, even if he is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. But it is permissible to be ashamed of him and to bar him, by legislation, from being buried in the section of Mount Herzl Cemetery that is reserved for the nation's leaders. The investigations of Olmert were begun by the state comptroller before he was elected prime minister, and they will continue after he leaves office. After all the mud he hurled at complainants, witnesses, policemen and prosecutors, it is alluring to imagine the headline: "Ma'asiyahu Prison commander: Olmert did not stand up to be counted." Bookmark to del.icio.us   'Weeds' whacking The Showtime series has steered away from Jewish stereotypes - until now. Stepping stones Hizb ut-Tahrir, which calls for a worldwide Islamic state, marches through Gaza.

Read & React Olmert: I'll quit once new Kadima leader chosen Responses: 139 ANALYSIS / Crushed and battered, Olmert finally broke Responses: 53 Gideon Levy: Top IDF officer should be tried for mass killing, not petty ATV incident Responses: 131 Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror Responses: 287 Abbas: I'll continue to work toward peace with any elected Israeli prime minister Responses: 58 More Headlines 20:56 Abbas: I'll work toward peace with any elected Israeli prime minister 01:40 Livni: All parties that support peace must unite under Kadima 22:47 Abbas orders release of Hamas men arrested in West Bank 02:30 Hezbollah threatens 'practical measures' against Israeli overflights 00:58 Students describe 'reign of terror' in Hebrew U.'s sociology department 01:36 ANALYSIS / Better reporting contributes to perceived climbing U.K. anti-Semitism 21:48 Obama helps U.S. woman fight Palestinian husband for their daughters 01:55 Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, relatives of fallen IDF troops come closer to ending dispute 01:43 War crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic appears at UN court 01:18 Gaydamak to be indicted for fraud and money laundering 12:59 Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror 22:27 ANALYSIS / Ehud Olmert failed in war and failed in peace 16:36 Despite sanctions, German firm closes 100m euro deal with Iran 19:43 Watchdog group to court: Don't let state delay payment to Holocaust survivors 17:39 Israeli envoy to Croatia condemns Nazi war criminal's funeral Previous Editions Select Day 31 jul 30 jul 29 jul 28 jul 27 jul 25 jul 24 jul 23 jul 22 jul 21 jul 20 jul 18 jul

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. MBA in Israel in English APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Yossi Avrahami Presents: New Luxurious Projects in North Tel Aviv & Eilat Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved