Will a former prime minister be arrested and brought in for police questioning for the first time in Israel’s history? Is there a chance that for the first time in the annals of the state a former prime minister will be sentenced to a prison term? These questions are emerging after the latest twist in Ehud Olmert’s endless criminal prosecutions. Along with them, another fundamental question arises: Is Israel a corrupt state?
Let’s start with the good part: Israel’s law enforcement system enjoys total freedom, independence and a significant degree of power vis-à-vis the regime, as well. At a time when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blocks access to Twitter and YouTube, in Israel anyone can be investigated, from the president through to the prime minister on down. The criticism leveled at the government from every direction is lethal and often brutal, no one is immune and the law enforcement system does not avoid weeding out governmental corruption. By the way, that same law enforcement system, the police and the state attorneys, stands helpless against organized crime, growing violence and criminality. In these areas, the police in Israel are weak, ineffectual, lacking real resources and quality personnel. Israel's police officers and investigators achieve their glory on the backs of the politicians who are under investigation every other day, sometimes in assembly-line fashion.
