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Last update - 09:32 03/08/2008 Spotlight on the lesser evil By Gideon Levy Tags: violence, Settlements  The Olmert affair has come and all but gone. A few more invoices here and some daggers there will be hurled at the hemorrhaging political corpse hanging in the town square, and Ehud Olmert will disappear into the sunset. A hedonistic, spendthrift prime minister, a relatively small-time, corrupt man who, like many others, did not know where to the draw the line between public and private money and who - like many of his colleagues in the upper crust of government - thought that a politician deserves everything, is going home. Olmert and his transgressions will be remembered as a footnote in history. Contrary to the typically passionate claims of a few self-styled protectors of the law, Olmert's conduct did not for one second endanger the rule of law in Israel; it did not threaten its form of government, nor did it undermine the state's foundations. Far more serious acts of corruption have been committed. Much greater dangers stalk and ultimately threaten the rule of law, and our democracy is fissured and fragile due to other phenomena. It isn't the Rishon Tours affair, nor the house on Cremieux Street, nor the Talanskys of this world, nor the cronyism and patronage in the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry that shape the state's character. On the contrary, the manner in which the relevant instruments of power sprang into action and launched an all-out offensive clearly proves that when it comes to minor corruptible violations, the rule of law is in relatively good shape. The danger we are faced with stems from other, incalculably graver circumstances. Nobody has taken it upon himself to wage a war against these circumstances, because this war demands much more courage. Like the "investigative journalism" programs we see on television, the self-righteous preoccupy themselves with trifle matters. How great it must be to make a name for yourself as a pursuer of justice as you shine the spotlight of your "investigation" onto a rabbi who got a little too frisky or the mechanic who overcharges his customer. This is a war that is universally satisfying to all sides. After all, who wants to tolerate an adulterous rabbi, a swindling mechanic, or a thief for a prime minister? Advertisement It goes without saying that such characters are worthy of ostracism, yet these battles are confined to the tiny space illuminated by a flashlight instead of the larger front where the greatest danger awaits. Olmert failed the Kolbotek (a popular consumer affairs TV show) litmus test, and he deserves to be punished accordingly, but the saintly image of the hell-bent seekers of justice that has been affixed to those who have brought him down is exaggerated, if not ridiculous. Olmert's predecessor was suspected of far more serious crimes. Ariel Sharon and his sons allegedly laid their hands on sums of money that far exceed what has been attributed to Olmert, but Sharon exited the stage of history as a beloved, admired leader, a likeable grandfather figure who tended to his herd and did not harm a soul. A war against Sharon's corruption was a far more difficult proposition because Sharon cut a strong, threatening figure, and he was cherished. He was also responsible for the disengagement, which for some reason was portrayed by some as a step toward peace - perhaps that was the reason why the criminal investigations against him were buried. Those who closed the investigations without indictments and forgave Sharon are also those who are now bitterly ensconced in all-out war against his successor, who is cleaner and weaker by comparison. But the danger lurking around the corner emanates from a different direction. The law enforcement agencies, the police, the prosecutors and the courts - those we blindly admire - have for some time now ceased to operate as a system of justice with equal rights for all. Rich and poor, Jew and Arab do not receive the same treatment. Can anyone seriously claim that a wealthy individual armed with a phalanx of high-priced lawyers is consigned to the same legal fate as that of "Buzaglo," the average Israeli? Would a Jewish child who hurled a rock at a car receive the same punishment as an Arab child who did the same? Do the Israel Defense Forces and the police investigate settler crimes against Palestinians with the same sense of urgency? Is it a coincidence that the trigger fingers of Israel's police officers become itchier time and again whenever their weapons are pointed in the direction of Arab lawbreakers? Israel's legal system has already laid the groundwork for the legitimization of an apartheid regime. This is the real danger to the rule of law: The quasi automatic enlistment of the justice system by the defense establishment endangers the rule of law more than all this Olmertism. The IDF's ignoring of High Court rulings, much like the ban on the use of the "neighbor procedure" (soldiers using Palestinian civilians as human shields when arresting militants); the fact that the Shin Bet security service continues to torture suspects in contravention of a High Court ruling; and the failure to implement the court-ordered change to the route of the separation fence should have sent alarm bells ringing among the guardians of justice. When settlers continue to rampage against Palestinians - not nearly a day goes by without a pogrom and there is no place where armed militias don't roam around, yet nobody investigates these acts nor is anyone tried in court - this threatens the state's character much more than all of Olmert's cash-stuffed envelopes. The situation in the southern Hebron Hills, for example, which for a while now has become abandoned territory, endangers the rule of law far more than all of Olmert's investigations. In light of all of this, the self-styled knights of justice remain silent, cover their eyes, neither seeing nor hearing. Most importantly, they do not confront these ills. True, it is difficult to do so. It is likely to arouse fierce resistance. So, as a result, they plunge their swords into convenient places, which are safe and which everyone agrees on. They are no Emile Zolas. Rather, just miniature Rafi Ginats. Bookmark to del.icio.us   New bestsellers Three children's books about the US presidential race to be published soon. False accusation Pentagon admits it wrongly accused Jewish army engineer of spying for Israel.   1.   weak column as usual. rich people everywhere have more rights!!! 09:44  |  arthur 03/08/08   2.   Bravo, Gordon Levy: Only the Saudi Plan will topple Apartheid! 10:01  |  Ivar 03/08/08   3.   Leftist Court certainly has supported apartheid 10:13  |  Binyamin Dissen 03/08/08   4.   Smearing Israel only gets you the title of traitor Levy 10:20  |  x-ray 03/08/08   5.   gideon needs aminers lamp to aid his visions of justice 10:24  |  victor hardman 03/08/08   6.   I loved this article 10:26  |  Palestinian in UK 03/08/08   7.   In apartheid regime people like a Gideon will disappear 10:32  |  e.m Jordan is Palse 03/08/08   8.   Add A Xenophobia and Narrowmindedness 10:51  |  TA 03/08/08   9.   Sad reflections from 10:53  |  Ilan 03/08/08   10.   Apparently Levi`s exile from his Sunday page is over. Pity. 11:00  |  Freethinker 03/08/08   11.   In apartheid regime people like a Gideon will disappear 11:02  |  e.m Jordan is Palse 03/08/08   12.   Giddy levy`s lack of experience strikes again 11:04  |  Joe Moer 03/08/08   13.   #2ta and the world of fantasy where all men are equal in law 11:06  |  victor hardman 03/08/08   14.   Israels attitude toward the Arabs 11:13  |  Natallie Durson 03/08/08   15.   ivar at the stockades brings down the bastille 11:16  |  victor hardman 03/08/08   16.   BEING CONSUMED BY GREEDY SETTLERS 11:17  |  indrajaya 03/08/08   17.   nO. 4 11:20  |  Roslyn Steinberg 03/08/08   18.   Natallie, 14, the christian zionist heresy abets the Settlers 11:56  |  Ivar 03/08/08   19.   Natallie, 14, the christian zionist heresy abets the Settlers 11:56  |  Ivar 03/08/08   20.   Hysteria over Reason 11:56  |  FOX 03/08/08   21.   What a self hater you are Gidon 12:03  |  asdf 03/08/08   22.   Gideon right, Apartheid is Israel`s cancer 12:04  |  Udi 03/08/08   23.   Truth 12:08  |  New Isratinian 03/08/08   24.   Was there ever a Levy article Pal in UK didn`t love? 12:16  |  Freethinker 03/08/08   25.   Gideon Levy 12:36  |  Ralph 03/08/08   26.   Sanity at Last 12:42  |  observer 03/08/08   27.   blah blah blah apartheid *yawn* ^_^ 12:46  |  Denise Thompson 03/08/08   28.   FOX, the Settlers are hysterical, and reason with the Saudi Plan 13:02  |  Ivar 03/08/08   29.   black african 13:06  |  lindiwe 03/08/08   30.   ANOTHER sloganfest bending stretching twisting to prove nothing. 13:06  |  PETER SM 03/08/08   31.   IVAR .Saudis are world leaders in "non Apartheid"?? 13:11  |  PETER SM 03/08/08   32.   apartheid south african 13:12  |  tshabalala 03/08/08   33.   israel is not a democracy,it is an ethnocracy! 13:12  |  lakshmi 03/08/08   34.   Gidon expects to fight Apartheid from within?! 13:14  |  Analyst 03/08/08   35.   another good Levy story 13:18  |  rm 03/08/08   36.   #32 from South Africa 13:37  |  Warren J 03/08/08   37.   #32, tshabalala: SA delegation was shocked (so you are fake) 13:54  |  Jimmy C 03/08/08   38.   Peter, 31, The Saudi Plan IS a cure-all for Middle East ills 13:59  |  Ivar 03/08/08   39.   WARREN J Its now reverse apartheid ,corruption & cronyism 14:10  |  PETER SM 03/08/08   40.   JIMMY C. have long discredited themselves as honest brokers 14:12  |  PETER SM 03/08/08   41.   #33 lakshmi - constitution vs democracy 15:04  |  Shlomo 03/08/08   42.   Rock throwing 15:43  |  Fatso 03/08/08   43.   Settlers 15:51  |  Fatso 03/08/08   44.   Jimmy C 15:53  |  x-ray 03/08/08   45.   Apartheid 16:05  |  Fatso 03/08/08   46.   Equal rights indeed a big problem for Israel 16:42  |  Yael 03/08/08   47.   just another kapo on the hama payroll 16:47  |  Arie 03/08/08   48.   Arthur, it`s not a weak column 16:53  |  noor 03/08/08   49.   Why did Israel become Apartheid state? 16:55  |  Yoni 03/08/08   50.   41 Shlomo,on the contrary israel`s basic laws are discriminatory 17:00  |  lakshmi 03/08/08   51.   Apartheid is a disgrace for Judasim 17:29  |  Jewish Anti-Zionist 03/08/08   52.   Apartheid is bad for the Jews 17:41  |  Realist 03/08/08   53.   What about the apartheid Arab countries? 17:48  |  Mrs. Fatso from USA 03/08/08   54.   Lakmish is wrong 18:24  |  arik 03/08/08   55.   Gideon Levy, you are soo on point ! 18:37  |  Dutch 03/08/08   56.   #44 xray with blurred vision 18:42  |  Labhras 03/08/08   57.   Lakshmi # 50 _ Pathalogical Liar Re Indian Constitution 2nd TRY 18:44  |  Eli 03/08/08   58.   #40 petersm you are long discredited 18:59  |  Labhras 03/08/08   59.   Failing "High Court" 19:14  |  David 03/08/08   60.   #55 Addendum, The Supreme enabler of the occupation 19:15  |  Dutch 03/08/08   61.   Good article! 19:27  |  Bill 03/08/08   62.   #49 - how else to create a Jewish state in a land 19:44  |  Diane 03/08/08