"Prime Minster Ehud Barak . . . should mount the Knesset
platform as quickly as possible and apologize to the chareidi
sector," Rabbi Moshe Gafni said during the debate on the
Likud's no confidence motion in the government because of the
scandal about the illegal nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that
were used by the One Israel party in its campaign for the
Knesset and to elect Barak prime minister.
A central feature of the One Israel campaign that was headed
by Barak, who approved its main themes and spoke about them
many times, was a vigorous and insulting campaign against
yeshiva students, Torah institutions and the entire Torah
educational network, as if they were phony organizations.
Large posters were hung around the country proclaiming that
Barak would allocate "Money for Employment, and not to
Fictitious NPOs." Now it turns out that this very battle
against the chareidi sector was conducted by fictitious NPOs
under the command of Barak and other figures who remain his
close associates.
Regardless of the outcome of the criminal investigation of
all those in the campaign, Rabbi Gafni insisted that Barak
owes the chareidi community an apology.
Though the full political, diplomatic and social impact of
the NPO scandal that has rocked the already shaky government
of prime minister Ehud Barak will not be evident for quite
some time, it has already had considerable effect.
Last weekend Barak canceled a scheduled trip to an economic
conference in Davos to concentrate on damage control in
Israel, incurring the wrath of the conference organizers who
had already announced that he would participate in several
events.
On Sunday he flew to Egypt for previously scheduled talks
with president Mubarak. Though the official press releases
said nothing of Barak's domestic troubles, all the reporters
asked about was the NPO scandal. Reportedly, a significant
part of the private talks between Barak and Mubarak also
dealt with the issue.
The Likud submitted a no confidence motion that was debated
on Monday. The proceedings were halted when news reached the
Knesset of the tragic attack in Lebanon (see separate story).
The remainder of the debate and the vote itself will be held
next Monday.
The Likud has also said it is weighing a legal suit to have
the results of the elections canceled in view of the
widespread abuses.
In a scathing attack on Barak before the session was halted,
Likud leader Ariel Sharon said that at stake is "the
credibility of the prime minister and whether he knew about
the activities of the nonprofit organizations."
Until the report, Sharon said, he thought Barak ran a one-man
show and had faulted him for it. Now, Sharon said, "we
suddenly have learned that this is not the way things are. On
such an important issue, and one related to the foundations
of the law and democratic regime . . . Barak didn't know,
hear, sense or suspect that in the election campaign he
headed things were being done that today are under criminal
investigation."
The full extent of the criminal aspects are certainly not yet
known. The comptroller noted that his investigation is not a
criminal one, and he refrained from entering into that aspect
of the abuses. Because of the hints of what is yet to come,
the possibility is already rumored in Knesset corridors that
the scandal spells the beginning of the end of the Barak
government.
Barak's attempts to defend himself and his campaign have not
been forceful or convincing. "As far as I understand, we
acted within the law and according to it. If mistakes were
made, they were done innocently," Barak told party members at
a meeting on the issue.
Barak said he would act strenuously to amend party financing
laws, which he claimed do not work well in the direct
election system. He and Justice Minister Yossi Beilin will
set up a legal committee to look into updating the law,
Barak said. Barak stressed that he would cooperate with any
investigation.
The Labor party is also seriously on the defensive. Fearing a
bad report, it reportedly set aside NIS 6 million to pay
fines. However the final assessment was almost NIS 14
million, and the comptroller insisted that he had been
lenient. The party has no reserves to cover such a large
payment. It asked its partners in One Israel, Gesher and
Meimad, to pay a portion of the fine, but they refused. At
first they announced that they will contest the fine in
court, but they have not yet filed any papers.
The Movement for Quality Government said that cabinet
secretary Yitzhak Herzog should not continue in his position
in view of the serious charges against him. Likud leaders
also called for his resignation, but last week Herzog said
that he has no intention of resigning and that he has done
nothing wrong.
Observers noted that the scandal makes it unlikely that Barak
could win a referendum on any agreement with Syria that is
clearly an uphill battle. Tal Zilberstein, accused with
Herzog as one of the worst offenders against the various
laws, was recently appointed by Barak to begin organizing the
effort to win the vote on a Syrian agreement.
Top police commanders began setting up five separate teams to
investigate the five Israeli political parties criticized by
the state comptroller for violating campaign laws in the 1999
election. The investigations -- of One Israel, Likud, the
Center Party, Israel Beiteinu and United Torah Judaism --
will be conducted by the national fraud division.
