Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav, of Iranian descent, was convicted in December of rape and obstructing justice. He was sentenced today to seven years in jail.
He has repeatedly denied any wrong doing, but was found guilty for rape, as well as molesting and sexually harassing several other women while serving as President.
The Presidency of Israel is a figurehead with no real power. But Katsav is of Middle Eastern descent and by and large, Jews of Middle Eastern descent are very underrepresented in the Israeli government. So despite its limited power, his position was one of great import for large swaths of Israeli society. Katsav used this point to claim the charges and subsequent trial “a witch hunt.”
Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the verdict shows that no one in Israel is above the law. Whichever way you look at it – either this being racially-minded politics at its worst or this meaning the previous President of Israel was a rapist – this is a sad day for Israel.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
