It is still not known whether or not Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will fire Deputy Minister Naomi Blumental. He continues to demand an explanation for her refusal to answer police questions about allegations that she rented hotel suites for Central Committee members on the eve of the Likud's primaries. Blumental finished an impressive seventh in the Central Committee vote.
Sharon says that an elected representative does not have the right to remain silent in the face of questions on the manner in which he or she was elected. He also has objections of a political nature: "Refusal to answer police questions is intolerable and unworthy, and stains not only the person being questioned, but also an entire movement that is struggling at this time over its standing in the public and the government," the Prime Minister wrote to Blumental. The Prime Minister thus came out against the long-standing Talmudic and democratic principle that a person may not be forced to incriminate himself.
Blumental's aides said today that it will soon become quite clear why she remained silent, and that Sharon had better concentrate on the manner in which "criminal elements" entered the party in the first place - hinting that the Prime Minister himself was responsible. It is known that Sharon initiated the "open door" policy of registering new voters for the Likud, which encouraged "vote-contractors" to register large amounts of people and thus amass electoral power.
It should also be noted that Blumental is known as a firm opponent to Sharon's plan for a Palestinian state. In Sept. 2001, when Sharon first stated his support for such an entity, the Deputy Minister called upon the Likud Knesset faction to convene and discuss the matter, and said that she was "stunned by his remarks... I hope that we will not be the ones to give a green light to the establishment of a terrorist state adjacent to us." Almost a year ago, Blumental voted in favor of a Knesset bill proposed by Herut MK Michael Kleiner calling for the invalidation of the Oslo Agreement, again against Sharon's position. Sharon has given broad hints that whoever does not support his diplomatic positions will not be able to be part of his government.
Sharon says that an elected representative does not have the right to remain silent in the face of questions on the manner in which he or she was elected. He also has objections of a political nature: "Refusal to answer police questions is intolerable and unworthy, and stains not only the person being questioned, but also an entire movement that is struggling at this time over its standing in the public and the government," the Prime Minister wrote to Blumental. The Prime Minister thus came out against the long-standing Talmudic and democratic principle that a person may not be forced to incriminate himself.
Blumental's aides said today that it will soon become quite clear why she remained silent, and that Sharon had better concentrate on the manner in which "criminal elements" entered the party in the first place - hinting that the Prime Minister himself was responsible. It is known that Sharon initiated the "open door" policy of registering new voters for the Likud, which encouraged "vote-contractors" to register large amounts of people and thus amass electoral power.
It should also be noted that Blumental is known as a firm opponent to Sharon's plan for a Palestinian state. In Sept. 2001, when Sharon first stated his support for such an entity, the Deputy Minister called upon the Likud Knesset faction to convene and discuss the matter, and said that she was "stunned by his remarks... I hope that we will not be the ones to give a green light to the establishment of a terrorist state adjacent to us." Almost a year ago, Blumental voted in favor of a Knesset bill proposed by Herut MK Michael Kleiner calling for the invalidation of the Oslo Agreement, again against Sharon's position. Sharon has given broad hints that whoever does not support his diplomatic positions will not be able to be part of his government.