PM Olmert intends to appoint forced-kiss offender Mk Chaim Ramon as Israel's Deputy Prime Minister. The religious women's group Emunah plans to file suit to block the appointment.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appears close to finally putting together his Cabinet's ministerial puzzle, following the resignation of Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson, the election of Shimon Peres as President, and the replacement of Amir Peretz with Ehud Barak as head of the Labor Party.
Olmert has apparently decided to name Chaim Ramon to replace Shimon Peres as Deputy Prime Minister, with expanded diplomatic and security authorities. Ramon was Olmert's Justice Minister for several months last year, until he was indicted and convicted of forcibly kissing a young soldier the day the Second Lebanon War started. Ramon was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, but the court ruled that his crime was not one entailing "moral turpitude" - enabling him to return later to a Cabinet post.
We can no longer ignore the significance of the ethical deterioration and the continuing erosion in the image and leadership of the State.
Olmert had been considering naming his good friend Ramon as Finance Minister, but was reportedly afraid of public criticism, including Supreme Court lawsuits. His decision did not save him from such, however; the Emunah women's group said it would file suit against the intention to name Ramon to any top government position.
Emunah Chairperson Liora Minke explained succinctly: "Little by little, the face of our country is becoming one of sexual harassers. We can no longer ignore the public significance of the ethical deterioration and the continuing erosion in the image and leadership of the State."
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, too, said that Ramon should not be appointed to the government at this time.
In place of Hirschson, Interior Minister Roni Bar-On will apparently be named to the Finance Ministry. Taking his place will likely be Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit, who was hoping to become Finance Minister, and Minister Without Portfolio Yaakov Edry (Kadima) will be promoted to Housing Minister.
Following the news of Emunah's intention to file suit, the Prime Minister's Bureau announced that the rumored appointments were not final. Earlier, however, staffers in Olmert's office confirmed otherwise. Final word is to be given this Wednesday.
Hirschson's resignation from the Finance Ministry followed several weeks of self-suspension, in light of a police investigation into charges that he embezzled funds from a nonprofit organization linked to the Histadrut National Labor Union. Olmert said he believes in Hirschson's innocence and wishes him success in proving it.
Bar-On's History Shadowed by Controversy
Israel's next Finance Minister, Roni Bar-On, has served in the past as Minister of Industry and Trade, and is not expected to make waves in his new position. Many analysts say his main qualification for the job is the great loyalty he has shown to Olmert throughout the past year and a half.
This is the third time that Bar-On's appointment to a high government position is overshadowed by charges of corruption - though none of them directly involve him.
In 1997, he was elevated from obscurity as a Jerusalem lawyer to Attorney General for a day in the chain of events that became known as the Bar-On-Hevron affair. Former Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri was indicted in its wake on charges that he persuaded then-Justice Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, and possibly then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to appoint Bar-On as Attorney General in return for Shas' support for the withdrawal from Hevron. Bar-On resigned from the position after one day on the job. The scandal made headlines for months.
Years later, beginning in March 2005, after he was already a Knesset Member, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tried to appoint him and Ze'ev Boim as Cabinet Ministers, in return for their staunch support of the Disengagement Plan and opposition to a Likud Party referendum. At the same time, Sharon proposed adding another Labor Party minister to the government so as to retain the national unity government's balance, thus increasing the number of ministers to 25. Several MKs on both sides of the political spectrum described the attempt as "base corruption," and the Knesset refused to approve it. Sharon also planned at the time to appoint no fewer than five deputy ministers from among his quiet but loyal supporters. While the appointment of deputy ministers did not require Knesset approval, the government itself voted to postpone it.
Sharon made a second attempt to appoint Bar-On to the Cabinet in October of 2005, but the Knesset again voted it down - and this defeat led Sharon to quit the Likud and start his own party. Within a short time, Sharon suffered his debilitating stroke, Ehud Olmert succeeded him in the Prime Minister's chair, the Likud resigned from the government - and only then, in January 2006, did Bar-On and Boim receive their coveted Cabinet positions.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appears close to finally putting together his Cabinet's ministerial puzzle, following the resignation of Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson, the election of Shimon Peres as President, and the replacement of Amir Peretz with Ehud Barak as head of the Labor Party.
Olmert has apparently decided to name Chaim Ramon to replace Shimon Peres as Deputy Prime Minister, with expanded diplomatic and security authorities. Ramon was Olmert's Justice Minister for several months last year, until he was indicted and convicted of forcibly kissing a young soldier the day the Second Lebanon War started. Ramon was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, but the court ruled that his crime was not one entailing "moral turpitude" - enabling him to return later to a Cabinet post.
We can no longer ignore the significance of the ethical deterioration and the continuing erosion in the image and leadership of the State.
Olmert had been considering naming his good friend Ramon as Finance Minister, but was reportedly afraid of public criticism, including Supreme Court lawsuits. His decision did not save him from such, however; the Emunah women's group said it would file suit against the intention to name Ramon to any top government position.
Emunah Chairperson Liora Minke explained succinctly: "Little by little, the face of our country is becoming one of sexual harassers. We can no longer ignore the public significance of the ethical deterioration and the continuing erosion in the image and leadership of the State."
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, too, said that Ramon should not be appointed to the government at this time.
In place of Hirschson, Interior Minister Roni Bar-On will apparently be named to the Finance Ministry. Taking his place will likely be Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit, who was hoping to become Finance Minister, and Minister Without Portfolio Yaakov Edry (Kadima) will be promoted to Housing Minister.
Following the news of Emunah's intention to file suit, the Prime Minister's Bureau announced that the rumored appointments were not final. Earlier, however, staffers in Olmert's office confirmed otherwise. Final word is to be given this Wednesday.
Hirschson's resignation from the Finance Ministry followed several weeks of self-suspension, in light of a police investigation into charges that he embezzled funds from a nonprofit organization linked to the Histadrut National Labor Union. Olmert said he believes in Hirschson's innocence and wishes him success in proving it.
Bar-On's History Shadowed by Controversy
Israel's next Finance Minister, Roni Bar-On, has served in the past as Minister of Industry and Trade, and is not expected to make waves in his new position. Many analysts say his main qualification for the job is the great loyalty he has shown to Olmert throughout the past year and a half.
This is the third time that Bar-On's appointment to a high government position is overshadowed by charges of corruption - though none of them directly involve him.
In 1997, he was elevated from obscurity as a Jerusalem lawyer to Attorney General for a day in the chain of events that became known as the Bar-On-Hevron affair. Former Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri was indicted in its wake on charges that he persuaded then-Justice Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, and possibly then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to appoint Bar-On as Attorney General in return for Shas' support for the withdrawal from Hevron. Bar-On resigned from the position after one day on the job. The scandal made headlines for months.
Years later, beginning in March 2005, after he was already a Knesset Member, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tried to appoint him and Ze'ev Boim as Cabinet Ministers, in return for their staunch support of the Disengagement Plan and opposition to a Likud Party referendum. At the same time, Sharon proposed adding another Labor Party minister to the government so as to retain the national unity government's balance, thus increasing the number of ministers to 25. Several MKs on both sides of the political spectrum described the attempt as "base corruption," and the Knesset refused to approve it. Sharon also planned at the time to appoint no fewer than five deputy ministers from among his quiet but loyal supporters. While the appointment of deputy ministers did not require Knesset approval, the government itself voted to postpone it.
Sharon made a second attempt to appoint Bar-On to the Cabinet in October of 2005, but the Knesset again voted it down - and this defeat led Sharon to quit the Likud and start his own party. Within a short time, Sharon suffered his debilitating stroke, Ehud Olmert succeeded him in the Prime Minister's chair, the Likud resigned from the government - and only then, in January 2006, did Bar-On and Boim receive their coveted Cabinet positions.