If the workers at the Port of Ashdod had internalized the government's ferocious war on corruption, what happened to them this week would likely not have taken place. Had they observed the disdain the corruption provoked among the Israeli public, they would have likely warned their unshakeable leader of the impending disaster. And that’s what happened this week to one of Israel’s strongest trade unions, which thought it was impervious to any adverse impact.

On May 28, in the early morning hours, police patrol cars raced toward the port chiefs' homes. One vehicle headed to the elegant home of the port trade union’s chairman. Policemen entered the home, searched all the rooms, took what they wanted with them and ordered him to accompany them. When Alon Hassan exited his house, police investigators encircled him and pushed him into the patrol car.

It is hard to imagine such a scene taking place in Israel in earlier times. So anxious was the state about the honor and status of those leaders that even the police stood helpless before them. Doing whatever the heck they wanted, these leaders would not even “stop at a red light.” In recent years, however, something started changing. Israel declared an all-out war on organized crime and profiteers. They were no longer untouchables.

In the late afternoon hours of May 28, a few hours after the arrest, Ashdod’s cafes filled up with hundreds of people. You could tell by their expressions that they were preoccupied by the affair. They sat around tables and enjoyed the cool breezes blowing in from the sea. The port’s cranes and derricks rose high into the skies, not far from the modern commercial center. Now and again, a long siren would split the air when a ship readied to cast anchor.