Contagious corruption

Corruption, it seems, is contagious. At least so it is in Israel. Almost every day we read of government officials and business tycoons accused of and indicted for some form of corruption.

Look no further than the Netanyahu family. Our Prime Minister is accused of bribery. His wife Sara is indicted for fraud. And their sick-minded spoiled son, Yair, is guilty of posting obnoxious anti-Semitic messages on his Facebook page, Yair Hun.  Perhaps he is from the seed of the wicked Atilla the Hun.

It is unbelievable that one of the biggest anti-Semites in the world, a racist former leader of the Ku Klux Klan which murdered thousands of African-Americans for more than one hundred fifty years, David Duke, sent congratulations to Yair and praised him for his welcomed anti-Semitic posting.

The editor of the Neo-Nazi paper, Der Sturmer, congratulated Yair and welcomed him as a “brother”, Now Yair Netyanyahu is honored by the racist White Supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, and the American Neo-Nazi party. What will be next? Maybe Hamas and Hezbollah will make him an honorary member.

And Abba Bibi and Ima Sara remain silent !

Ehud Barak is correct when he says that the Prime Minister’s very spoiled son should seek psychiatric help. What Jew, what Israeli, not to mention a son of a Prime Minister of the Jewish State, would revert to so disgraceful behavior?

News reports indicate that due to worldwide condemnation the mentally disturbed Yair has removed his message from Facebook. But the news makes no mention of what his parents said (or did not say) to shame him for his stupidity.

And now the Netanyahus are off to explore the trails of Latin and South America. A breather from the daily attacks in our Hebrew press.

Money tempts people and too many yield to its temptation. The hunger for more money does not cease.

Lawyers, bankers, contractors, doctors, members of the Knesset, members of the Cabinet, and too many members of the Rabbinate have been involved in bribery, fraud, money-laundering, corruption and racketeering.  It is not the Israel I remember from my younger years.

It is a contagious illness which is spreading into the highest levels of our society. And it is often difficult to eradicate because the corruption has  also seeped into our police forces, although, thankfully, most of our police personnel are honest men and women who struggle diligently to protect us.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s present visit abroad will be an eye-opener to the wide-spread corruption in almost every Latin American country’s government. Maybe he will smile and say to himself “in comparison to them, I’m not so bad after all. What’s a few Cuban cigars and some bottles of French champagne?”

And Sara will ask “why all the fuss about having catered meals brought in or changing some furniture from our Jerusalem residence to our Caesarea home?”

As for the nit-witted son, he will say “I’m the Prime Minister’s son. I can write whatever I want. We still have freedom of speech in my father’s regime. If the American President Trump can tweet his silly messages, why can’t I write freely what I feel?”

The tragedy is that no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. “The world is mine. It belongs to me” is their motto.

Fortunately here in Israel we have excellent judges and independent courts who will uphold the laws of the land. If found guilty, I doubt that Prime Minister Netanyahu will resign. His ego will not allow it. The main objective of his life is to hold on to his chair.

Sara will not go to jail. She may have to pay a hefty fine but the humility which she will face from the public and the press may be sufficient to keep her in hiding for some time.

As for Yair, he must fade into nothingness. He is surrounded by his wealthy playmates, fine cars, booze, girls, and is protected by our secret service. No other member of a Prime Minister’s family has ever been so protected by body-guards who must hate what they have to do. But they are paid to do it.

In a society of the corrupt, at least they are not afflicted by the disease of corruption.