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| Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu |
So how can I in good conscience
support a guy like that? Pretty much the same reason I might support another
slimy politician for President. (Although I'm not sure Trump can be considered a politician. At least not in the traditional sense of the word.) Not because I think either of them are all that ethical.They aren't. But based
on my own political perspective - among those running against them - they are both the best people for the job.
What about corruption charges? I think Diogenes lifelong search
for an honest man makes a very valid point. Which is that we are all human and
subject to temptation that betrays our honesty. People in high places get a lot of that - making it very difficult to resist. Bribes by people or industries seeking political favors are pretty common. A lot of good people have succumbed to that kind of temptation. Some
more than others. Some in major ways and some in relatively minor ways.
I do not condone what
Netanyahu did. But on the scale of corrupt activities – accepting some cigars
and champagne is not very high. Even if it was a lot of cigars and champagne. And trying to get a newspaper to give him favorable coverage is not very high on my list of evil either. Which politician doesn't seek favorable media coverage? And who knows what past politicians in high places have done to get it?
Netanyahu haters (just like Trump haters) will see these crimes as egregious violations of ethics. Demanding desperately that he be removed from office. I do not. Not that I condone what he has done. As I said, I don’t. But I do not want him to be removed from office either.
Netanyahu’s enemies are right about him in one way. He is self serving and arrogant. But that is true about a lot of politicians. They are all very high on themselves.
If they didn’t think they were all so great they would not be seeking the highest
office in the land. Which ultimately is the goal of almost every single politician
that ever ran for any political office. No matter how minor.
Arrogance breeds contempt. And a feeling of invincibility. It
is that feeling and bit of carelessness that causes the mighty to fall.
So why must I support a candidate that is like that and under indictment?
Because I think he has done a lot for his country. He will not be new to the job as will his opponent. Netanyahu has decades of experience in high office. How good a job did he do? I am not going to get into details (of which there are many) other than
to say that you don’t become the longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history unless the people want you there.
Nonetheless, his political enemies (which includes Israel’s mainstream media) will spare no effort - looking under ever rock to find dirt on him. Which
of course they did. The media loves to
expose corrupt officials - especially when they do not agree with their politics. That sells newspapers. It’s called investigative journalism. You find dirt and spin it in the most negative way possible.
If you are an American that is politically left of center, then you are angry at Netanyahu for additional reasons. You saw him constantly using his arrogance and a condescending ‘know it all’ attitude - lecturing the last President as though he were an ignorant school boy. That was enough to upset anyone. Frankly I was upset by that, too. He should not have treated the President that way.
Enraging the left even
more was when - at the invitation of the House Speaker John Boehner, Netanyahu did an end run around the President by speaking to a joint session
of congress. Urging them to
oppose the Iran Nuclear deal deal negotiated by the President’s envoys. (I supported Netanyahu on that one. Why shouldn’t
he accept an invitation by the
Speaker of the House to address them on an issue he believed was
of vital interest to both countries – just because he disagreed with the
President?)
Back to my support for Netanayhu. Why should I support someone under indictment that is so arrogant and controversial? Wouldn't it be better to support his more ethical political opponent, Benny Gantz ...whose polices are not all that different than Netanyahu’s?
If Gantz was truly more ethical, that might be a good
argument. But it appears that Gantz is
not all that lily white either. From YWN (via AP):
Israeli prosecutors say they are opening a criminal investigation into the failed start-up of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s challenger, shaking up what has already been a tumultuous election campaign.
In a statement released Thursday night, Israel’s Justice Ministry said Israeli police will conduct the investigation into “Fifth Dimension.” The statement did not say whether opposition leader Benny Gantz is a suspect.
Is Gantz guilty of anything? Innocent until proven
guilty is my standard. But the same thing can be said about Netanyahu.
Both men claim innocence. That’s nice. Of course they do! But since they’re both of questionable ethics - then as I said - all things considered I’d go with a proven
leader like Netanyahu a lot sooner than an unproven one like Gantz.
