Israeli Law.

• Author: Schindler, Sol

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel was sentenced Tuesday, May 13th, to six years imprisonment for taking bribes by Judge David Rosen of the Tel Aviv District Court. Public reaction was mixed, as to be expected except in one interesting part of the world. In Israel itself the reaction is one of mild embarrassment but quiet satisfaction. Criminals are being punished; loot is being returned to the rightful owners or confiscated by the government; the law appears to be working. Daniel Dorom, however, a free market economist who has done noteworthy work for the Israeli treasury, writes a heated article in The Middle East Forum in which he calls this instance of corruption the tip of a plague enveloping the country. He claims that politics is too involved with the country's economics. He does not refer to Zionism's early land policy in which community cooperatives, because of security reasons, were the preferred format for land settlement, and in cooperatives one gets more laws than otherwise which may on occasion temper or abridge free enterprise endeavor.

Whatever the history, currently Transparency International, an organization that attempts to measure corruption in various countries gives Israel a commendable rating, contrary to Doron's assessment. In our own country the media have been quite straightforward reporting the facts of the story but refraining from moral judgment. The Los Angeles Times gave the story a remarkable number of column inches but no judgment calls. It would be nice if the media could handle our own scandals in the same dispassionate manner but these are too close to home. The reaction in Muslim countries is certainly the most interesting. The Gatestone Institute has published an article by Khaled Abu Teamen who has collected and translated the remarks of a number of leading Arab figures, both religious and political. The following are a few from that collection.

Ali Al- Kadi: "We salute Judge David Rosen. We wish the Arabs had 22 judges like David Rosen. (al-Quds Al-Aeabi)

Mohammed Akash: O Muslims look at the fairness of this judge and where you are. You must learn from our enemy Israel. Long live the fair Israeli justice system." (Al-quds Al-Arabi)

Manji Dalali: "This is one of the secrets behind Israel's victory over the Arabs. We must learn from our Jewish Zionist enemy the principles of fair justice. (Al-Quds Al-Arabi)

Hassan Jamal: "I wish Arab countries do the same for their corrupt leaders. I wish the...