Money has corrupted the leaders of the Jewish state, says Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz (Tel Aviv. Haaretz is the top newspaper in Israel). The recent conviction of former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who took around $220,000 in bribes from real estate developers while mayor of Jerusalem, is just the latest case in point. Olmert had a “spartan childhood”, yet became “a man with a $300-a-day cigar habit and the most valuable fountain pen collection in the country”. He’s not alone in acquiring expensive tastes: just look at the lavish lifestyles of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet, most of whom were raised at a time when austerity was a necessity and a virtue. Back in the 1960s, ministers and generals would retire to small apartments on the kibbutz. Israelis would speak “dismissively, but also wistfully, of the rich uncle in the US. The one who had chosen a life of luxury instead of ideology.” But over the ensuing decades, Israeli lawmakers succumbed to materialist urges. First, they accepted personal loans from diaspora tycoons; then, as the flow of easy foreign money grew, they drifted into corruption. Jews around the world have been generous to Israel, but when they watch the news and shake their heads at what has become of the holy land, “they should just bear in mind that it was their money that corrupted us”.
As far as I know Epicurus had nothing against having money. If it brings happiness and contentment, and you can do something good with it,that is just fine. The problem is that they are not doing anything good with it, just taking even more land. You cannot justify it under any circumstances.
Israel’s sudden withdrawal from peace talks and its threat to punish the Palestinians for the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement is a tactical move meant to deflect from the main cause of the failure of decades of peace talks — Israel’s ongoing settlement expansion and the entrenchment of the occupation, materially and diplomatically supported by the United States.
Jewish Voice for Peace, April 29th
What a stain on American journalism that this observation in Ha’aretz, one of Israel’s foremost newspapers, would almost certainly never appear in New York Times, or Washington Post editorial. The entire Ha’aretz statement would provoke shouts of: “Apologize!” from a large swath of U.S. politicians.
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“The Israeli government must, therefore, make the history of the Palestinians an integral part of every school curriculum. It must cease its systematic disregard of the Nakba (the Palestinian term for the “catastrophe” they suffered upon Israel’s founding), arrange a program for touring the ruins of villages that were destroyed, encourage exchange visits and instill in the curriculum the message of the historic partnership between the two nations. This is the road that will lead to understanding and mutual recognition.”
http://www.haaretz.com/mobile/1.587925?v=08327BD4C68BB63B18EE7E977D6DE12B
While claiming to be committed to peace talks, Israel has ramped up its destruction of Palestinian homes and livelihood structures and intensified its building of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. According to the United Nations, the number of Palestinian structures demolished and Palestinians displaced so far this year is up to 29% and 32%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2013 – a year which witnessed a steep rise in demolitions and displacement. ( Medical Aid for Palestinians)