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.

Former President Moshe Katzav is serving a long sentence in an Israeli prison after being convicted of rape and other sexual offenses. Former Finance Minister Abraham Hirschson got out last year after doing no small amount of time for fraud and bribery. Knesset member Aryeh Deri, head of the Shas Party and former minister of interior, was convicted in 1999 and sent to prison more than a decade ago. Many other ministers were sentenced to jail terms for various corruption affairs, dozens of politicians have been interrogated by police, some were charged, some were convicted, some were acquitted, in strange and sundry affairs that sometimes create the impression, wrongly so, in my opinion, that Israel is the Middle East branch of the “House of Cards.” It seems to me that the comparison is totally unfounded.

Here is a partial list of the events of the past week, ending on March 28: Silvan Shalom, the water and energy minister, formerly minister of finance and foreign affairs, who intended to run for the position of president (the elections will be held in a few weeks and President Shimon Peres’ term ends this coming July), was questioned by police under caution after a secretary in his former office complained that he had had sexual relations with her 15 years ago, abusing his position and authority over her. Given the time that has elapsed, the offense attributed to Shalom is past its statute of limitations and he cannot be prosecuted for it (if and when it comes to this), but the case has not yet been closed and the police are waiting to see if any other women come forward to complain about more recent events. As of now, Shalom’s presidential prospects appear a lost cause, even if the case against him is closed.