that’s a denegrading attitude to end a ‘discussion’.

wow. . .

you think I post reactions here to have ‘the last word’?

I think that Lisa is “attacking” Gaydamak because this article is about Gaydamak. It’s not about Sharon or Olmert or any other politician. If one were to write about all the crooked politicians we’ve had in this country, I think the writer’s computer would die before the writing was finished, and a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome would develop.

You call Lisa naive for her beliefs on this subject. Frankly, I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to fight all corruption, as opposed to wholeheartedly supporting someone when you know they are corrupt, just because a different set of people are supposedly benefiting from that corruption. It’s a sad fact of life here that so many of the people in power are corrupt, and the thought of voting for or supporting any of them is terribly depressing. Come election time, I’ll probably vote for one of the smaller parties, because I believe it’s important to exercise my right to vote. I will feel better voting for a party that I believe in, even if they don’t make it over the threshold, than I would voting for someone who I know is corrupt. I considered that during the last elections, and my heart was so heavy that I changed my mind, something I didn’t regret. The corrupt politicians still gained power, but my conscience was clear, knowing that I didn’t vote to put them there.

Oh, and Gaydamak is “spending his money on smoothing the elites to let him into their society”. Why do you think he throws these extravagant New Year’s Eve parties every year, inviting a virtual who’s who from all sectors of Israel’s upper crust, from politicians to models to rabbis to actors, and so on? He’s working it from all angles, trying to buy his way in to the elite circles while at the same time trying to buy the affections of certain sectors of regular society, and he’s using the same methods for both – throwing out crumbs that he believes will tantalize and reel them in. He’s trying to buy us all, and sadly, there are far too many people who are perfectly willing to allow themselves to be bought this way.

When you look at many of the other corrupt politicians we have, at least you can say that most of them have somehow worked their way up through the ranks, whether it be through the military, starting off as low-ranking politicians, parliamentary aides, through academia, through the Histadrut, etc. These paths don’t make them any less corrupt, but it is certainly more of a palatable route for me than Gaydamak’s path of transparently trying to buy his way straight to the top, without even bothering to pay his dues or master the local language on the way. Also, these people didn’t enter the world of politics already having such a wide array of allegations against them.

And you know what? I thought it was great that he created the tent camp during the war last summer, and great that he has tried to take the pressure off the citizens of Sderot for a bit, but as Lisa says, these are just crumbs. I would probably be more impressed if he did something like create jobs in the peripheral areas, donate money to hospitals in these same areas, etc, acts that would make a difference in the longterm, and acts that aren’t as showy as what he’s done until now.

I think it says a great deal about our society when so many people are perfectly willing to turn a blind eye when so much is stacked against him. I’m not going to cheer for a crook just because of a few populist acts. Gaydamak is not Robin Hood, and I refuse to treat him as though he was.

should be ‘biG time’

I don’t think it’s apathy that those people are experiencing. On the contrary – I would say – they aren’t cheering him for nothing: there finally is a crook who doesn’t spent his money on smoothing the elites to let him into their society – but faces ‘the’ peope face on.

I do not think he is a “problem in all political systems”. He would be, if those political systems weren’t corrupt from the root themselves – but since they are, he is the next best option.

Sure he is under investigation by the Israeli police for whatever. If you pay attention to the last 20-30 years of politics in our country you will find out that the police hold criminal ‘files’ against about every prime-minister or potential influential political force here. That started with Bibi and his wife who was suspected of wearing a broche that she had obtained “illegally” (a gift from whoever) worth one-and-a-half=dollar going through Eli Ishaiy (of Shas) having run down his sister in law in NYC because Shas became too close to having influence and all through the rest of our “political scene” – whoever got influential. It is a very, VERY, clear pattern one can recognize.

What “personal power”? Did Olmert offer of his personal wealth any relief to the Northerners while being under fire? To the people of Sderot to have some relief from the qassams? Nope. He -and his generals- buy more shares (or sells them) an hour before a war starts so his bank account grows. Politics is ALL about personal power – the crutch is who benefits from this power. You actually see someone giving up these egocentric trips ever when he gets ‘into’ the political scene? Nobody does. (Except Menachan Begin) So why are people falling over him? Because he supports the layer of population that isn’t considered ‘cultural’ by our forced standards?

ut seriously, if you do not think it’s problematic that a man who is wanted by Interpol, and who is the subject of a police investigation in Israel, might one day be a member of the government, then I guess we will just don’t have much to talk about.

Sharon was accused of being indirectly responsible for a massacre and he became prime-minister. Why do you attack Gaydamak?

Surely the correct approach is to fight all corruption – not substitute one type for another.

This is not meant to insult you (really!!!) but having been in this country over 30 years and into politics ‘from the other side’ just as long, I honestly think you are naive (sorry *blush* )
As soon as the 18 families financially (and I mean ‘bit time’) controlling this country lose their control I join your quest. Until then I believe fire has to be fought with fire, because as you know water is short in our region.

“The people” have not benefited from Gaydamak’s money. They have received a few crumbs, that is all. Three days in a tent camp in Tel Aviv might be a fun adventure for some people from Sderot, but in the end they had to go home and the Qassams are still falling. Meanwhile, Gaydamak received some more publicity.

Cronyism is a problem in all political systems. It is up to the people to control it, via intelligent voting and direct involvement in the political system. Sitting back and cheering for a megalomaniac like Gaydamak, who makes populist statements and throws a few crumbs at the people who feel neglected and disenfranchised, is just another manifestation of the apathy that is one of the greatest threats facing Israeli society.

Gaydamak is wanted by Interpol for gunrunning to Angola, and for money laundering. You say that foreign crimes don’t bother you. Well, he is also under investigation by the Israeli police for money laundering.

I am surprised that you are not troubled by the idea of a criminal buying his way into Israeli politics simply in order to consolidate his personal power. I do not see any evidence to support the claim that he has helped anyone in Israel except for himself.

But seriously, if you do not think it’s problematic that a man who is wanted by Interpol, and who is the subject of a police investigation in Israel, might one day be a member of the government, then I guess we will just don’t have much to talk about.

After all, you say you are against Olmert and his friends because they are corrupt. Bibi is also not exactly free of the taint of corruption, and Bibi is backed by Gaydamak. Why would you want to replace one corrupt politician with another? Surely the correct approach is to fight all corruption – not substitute one type for another.

So, here comes a crook who builds his way into power with thinking about the right people and he is all of a sudden denegraded as ‘dangerous’?

So what if his speech or looks are ‘suspicious’? I think he has catched on to the new trend that ‘our old’ politicians seem to want to avoid: ‘the people’ should profit from their way to the ‘top’ and not that club of elites that makes me nauseous.

“Lots of corruption” – you know, I think, like I do that there are many ‘legal ways’ to get rich on our backs and all of them are being played on us – now it’s being played openly and the target audience is ‘us’ (at least, I count myself under them) the ones that are too far from the plate of ‘protection’.

The I scratch your back if you scratch mine politics should one time come to an end, and I think he is the only that can do it.

And yet he has the nerve to tell Israeli politicians that *they* are corrupt?

He does not care about Israel, or about helping poor people to live a better life. He cares about consolidating his own power. He gives money that he can afford to give, in order to achieve popularity. If donating money were not an effective means of gaining power, he would not give it. He is not giving it out of the goodness of his heart. He is an opportunist.

Sure, there is lots of corruption in Israeli politics. But there is no Israeli politician who is corrupt on such a grand scale as Gaydamak. And for him to sit in front of Shelly Yachimovich and accuse her of being in politics only for the salary is really revolting. Furthermore, the fact that Gaydamak can gain influence in politics without being part of the democratic system is very dangerous.

Gaydamak is currently allied with Bibi Netanyahu. If Bibi becomes prime minister, Gaydamak will have direct access to the highest echelons of power in Israel. What do you think he will do with that influence?