Israeli President Moshe Katsav faced mounting pressure Monday to
quit after police recommended he be charged with rape in a sex
scandal tarnishing a public office Israelis cherish as being above
their rough-and-tumble politics.
Katsav decided to skip the opening ceremony of the winter
session of parliament Monday, the president's brother said.
Katsav's brother, Lior, said the president would stay home to
protect the dignity of the Knesset, or parliament. In his largely
symbolic post, Katsav is responsible for presiding over such
ceremonies.
"We have no doubt of his innocence," Lior Katsav told Army
Radio. "We know he is being framed and he is being blamed of things
that did not happen."
Police on Sunday recommended that Katsav be indicted for rape,
aggravated sexual assault and other counts, wrapping up a
months-long investigation into complaints by women who worked for
him. Attorney-General Meni Mazuz must make the final decision on
whether to indict.
Although Mazuz's decision is likely weeks away, calls on Katsav
to suspend himself or resign are growing. Several lawmakers,
including all members of the liberal Meretz Party, had threatened
to boycott Monday's parliamentary ceremony if Katsav attended.
While Israel has a long history of political scandals, the
charges that Katsav may face would be the most serious criminal
counts ever brought against a serving official. In the past, a
previous president and several prime ministers were suspected of
financial misdeeds, and a former defence minister as convicted of
sexual harassment.
In a statement released on Sunday, police said the
recommendations were based on complaints filed by "women who worked
under his (Katsav's) authority."
It said there was evidence he committed crimes of "rape,
aggravated sexual assault, indecent acts without permission and
offences under the law to prevent sexual harassment."
Police also said the found the basis for charges of fraud and
malfeasance, as well as illegal wiretapping. Investigations that
Katsav disrupted a police investigation and harassed a witness are
still in progress.
Katsav has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a
conspiracy.
His lawyer, Zion Amir, issued a statement on Sunday saying that
police are not authorized to bring charges. It noted that in the
past, when police have recommended putting senior officials on
trial, the attorney-general has dismissed most of the cases.
The scandal has marred the two-decade career of a politician
with an image of being dull but squeaky-clean. Katsav, a longtime
backbencher in the Likud Party, was elected to the presidency by
parliament in a shocking upset over Nobel laureate and elder
statesman Shimon Peres.
Although the position is largely ceremonial, the president is
expected to set moral standards and help unify the country during
times of trouble. During the recent war against Hezbollah
guerrillas in Lebanon, Katsav visited areas hit by rocket fire,
rushing for shelter in a building during one barrage.
Katsav has said he has no intention of stepping down before the
end of his seven-year term next year. However, if indicted he would
likely have to step aside.
Katsav, 60, was born in Iran, and is the first president to come
from among the Jews who immigrated from Muslim countries and who
suffered discrimination at the hands of the European Jewish
establishment in the first years of the state.
His ascension to the presidency was seen as a sign that those
once dismissed as marginal had joined Israel's elite.
(China Daily October 17, 2006)
