Prime Minister Sharon began his talk last night as follows:
"I have come to respond to the despicable plot that has been woven against me and the Likud, and which has one goal: to topple the regime in Israel, and to take over in a deceitful manner.
"I would like to describe to you the turn of events of the past months. About two months ago, the Labor Party decided, with its own internal political interests in mind, to drag the entire country into an election campaign. I said then that the elections were unnecessary, and that Labor's behavior in the midst of a struggle against terror, and on the eve of a possible war with Iraq, was wanton and irresponsible. I must admit that even I did not conceive how wanton and irresponsible their behavior could be. I will give you an example.
"A few weeks ago, I paid a visit at the Home Front command, in order to check the preparations being made for war with Iraq... The chances that Israel will be attacked are not great - but they exist, and we must therefore be prepared in order to give Israeli citizens the best protection. Every child understands this - except for the Labor Party, its supporters, and all who help her. This responsibility is, in the end, upon me. I'm Prime Minister, and the ultimate responsibility falls on me. I go to visit and to check - sometimes in surprise visits - to see how the preparations are being made. I would betray my responsibilities if I did not do this. And here, the Labor Party and all who help it, started to attack me personally, as if these war preparations were just an election campaign trick - as if there were no crisis in Iraq, as if the entire world is not preparing for war, as if we were not attacked once before by Iraq contrary to the predictions of all the experts. [An attack like this] happened in the past, and we must be ready - but not according to the Labor Party. In their minds, there are only elections. The whole world revolves only around them, and around their chances of winning another piece of power. This is how they think - or at least, this is how they talk. This behavior, at the expense of our most sacred thing, is shameful - but even more, it is wanton and irresponsible.
"This example is an indication of everything that has happened here in the past weeks. First, they embarked on a “witch hunt” against the entire Likud, trying to blacken the entire movement and all of its members, and present us as a Mafia and a bunch of mobsters – and all for political motives.
"You can compare the way in which I acted during this incident and the way in which Amram Mitzna acted. For in the Labor Party, incidents of the most serious nature were revealed - of election forgeries, polling booths that disappeared, buying positions with money. There are police investigations, indictments, invalid appointments, false affidavits, everything. Mitzna himself was interrogated by the police regarding two corruption scandals, and his lack of purity of action and his ties with contractors and financial figures in Haifa have been publicized. I, for my part, took immediate action; Mitzna has done nothing. I announced immediately that I would distance from the Likud and from the government anyone whose election was tainted - and I did so. Mitzna did nothing, nothing at all. I appointed a committee to change and revamp the Likud’s primaries system, and adopted its recommendations. Mitzna did nothing when he saw the election forgeries - he did nothing, and will do nothing, because Mitzna and the press that accompanies him are interested not in corruption, or in proper behavior, but only in blackening the Likud. Only the Likud interests it."
“Damage was done to the Likud in the polls, but despite this, Labor stayed stuck [in these polls], and Mitzna just didn’t take off [and gain support]. So they decided to strike out at me via my sons. They took Omri, whose only sin was to come and help me as Prime Minister, and they tried to turn him into a mobster. When this did not work, they found some story about a Greek island and tried to stick it forcefully onto my son Gilad. Let it be clear: this is an old story of a few years, it has nothing to do with me, and the authorities have never asked Gilad even one question about it or to testify about it. Some journalist comes and writes a gossipy story, and the Labor Party immediately jumps on the booty.
"Gilad, who is an economist, made an financial deal - and they call it corruption! Gilad received a fee for his work, and they call it Mafia. I ask: What, have you gone crazy? Have you gone out of your minds?!
"And again, it didn't work. Mitzna was still stuck in the polls, he still can't make it, the aroma of power is still far away from them. So they go on to the next stage. Someone - whose identity is being investigated right now, by order of the Attorney-General - leaked a document filled with gossip and lies about Gilad's business dealings, as if they are tied to me. I would like to tell you the exact facts.
"More than a year ago, the State Comptroller found that donations had been taken against the law, and he informed me of such. I was astonished at the findings. I returned home, discussed it with my sons, and told them - on my own initiative - that we must return all the money to the donors immediately, without waiting - even if we must again mortgage the farm, our home, in order to do this. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only one who did so, who returned this money. Barak has not done so until today, and Mitzna and his association have not done so, even though he should have. Only I did this, on my own initiative, without anyone forcing me to do so. The Comptroller didn't tell me to return it, but I did it on my own when I heard that the donations were beyond that which were permitted. I went on my own and decided on my own to return it all.
"Now, we're talking about a large sum - almost five million shekels. I, after all, do not have financial means. Back in 1989, I removed the farm from my hands - and even before that there had been a trustee, until the boys returned from the army - as the law demanded. When the boys completed their army service, they took over the running of the farm. Today, Gilad runs it successfully, and I am not involved. This is what the law demands. I took my savings, and those of [my wife] Lili of blessed memory, and I gave about a half-million shekels - half of it in an overdraft from the bank - and Gilad took it upon himself to get the rest of the money. After a short while, he brought me the rest of the sum, a bit over four million shekels, and I then returned the money to the donors. [Actually] I returned the first half-million from our savings even before the other money came, in order to show that my intention, as opposed to others, was to return the money. With this, the incident came to an end as far as I was concerned.
"I say here clearly: I did not know exactly how the money was obtained. We had talked about mortgaging the farm, and as far as I knew then, that's what happened. When the police asked me about this, I told them exactly that, and that according to the best of my knowledge, the farm had been mortgaged. If another way had been found, fine. My son Gilad is a businessman, a successful one, and he has made money, and I’m very proud of him. I know that everything was done legally and above board, with documentation and the way it should be. By the way, -"
--At this point, Channel One television apologetically interrupted the broadcast, explaining that it must begin broadcasting the official election propaganda infomercials "in the spirit of the arrangement of the Elections Board headed by Judge Michael Cheshin." Voice of Israel Radio continued to broadcast the speech for another minute or so, however:
"...but what will be with the scandal?! After all, he who leaked, and those who blew up the story, and those who celebrated it - did not do so because they sought the truth. The truth could have been found out very simply, by asking questions, receiving answers, checking documents. But if it's done that way, then of course there's no juicy scandal, and it can't be taken advantage of for political needs. They [knew that that's] not the way to take over power. So they make up things. They tell lies, blow up gossipy stories, and deal with illusions. Take, for example, the incident of my friend Cyril Kern. He is a man who -"
--At this point, Voice of Israel Radio announced that the broadcast had to be stopped by order of Elections Board Chairman Judge Michael Cheshin, because of the electioneering that Sharon had woven into his remarks. The announcer then immediately began to interview Labor Party Secretary-General MK Ophir Pines, asking him not to engage in electioneering but rather to answer Sharon's charges that he had acted resolutely to deal with corruption on both the party and personal level, while the Labor Party leaders did not do so. Pines responded that Sharon had promised to produce facts and documentation, and instead of doing so, he produced "poisonous, deceitful, debased and vile propaganda..."
Excerpts from the remainder of Mr. Sharon's remarks:
“Kern [Sharon's old friend who loaned the money] has no, and probably will not have, business interests in Israel… Is there anything I can give him? Have you gone totally crazy?!”
Regarding Mitzna’s demand that he tell the police his story, Sharon said, “What am I supposed to tell them? About the despicable gossip and the wretched rumors they are spreading? Did he go to the police about his corruption? I refuse to play this low-down game. If the police want to talk to me, they can come; I will hide nothing.”
In conclusion, Sharon said, “I have confidence that the Israeli public will know how to differentiate between the dirty politics of cheap slander, and the politics with which, with national responsibility, we continue to manage the complex affairs of the State of Israel.”
"I have come to respond to the despicable plot that has been woven against me and the Likud, and which has one goal: to topple the regime in Israel, and to take over in a deceitful manner.
"I would like to describe to you the turn of events of the past months. About two months ago, the Labor Party decided, with its own internal political interests in mind, to drag the entire country into an election campaign. I said then that the elections were unnecessary, and that Labor's behavior in the midst of a struggle against terror, and on the eve of a possible war with Iraq, was wanton and irresponsible. I must admit that even I did not conceive how wanton and irresponsible their behavior could be. I will give you an example.
"A few weeks ago, I paid a visit at the Home Front command, in order to check the preparations being made for war with Iraq... The chances that Israel will be attacked are not great - but they exist, and we must therefore be prepared in order to give Israeli citizens the best protection. Every child understands this - except for the Labor Party, its supporters, and all who help her. This responsibility is, in the end, upon me. I'm Prime Minister, and the ultimate responsibility falls on me. I go to visit and to check - sometimes in surprise visits - to see how the preparations are being made. I would betray my responsibilities if I did not do this. And here, the Labor Party and all who help it, started to attack me personally, as if these war preparations were just an election campaign trick - as if there were no crisis in Iraq, as if the entire world is not preparing for war, as if we were not attacked once before by Iraq contrary to the predictions of all the experts. [An attack like this] happened in the past, and we must be ready - but not according to the Labor Party. In their minds, there are only elections. The whole world revolves only around them, and around their chances of winning another piece of power. This is how they think - or at least, this is how they talk. This behavior, at the expense of our most sacred thing, is shameful - but even more, it is wanton and irresponsible.
"This example is an indication of everything that has happened here in the past weeks. First, they embarked on a “witch hunt” against the entire Likud, trying to blacken the entire movement and all of its members, and present us as a Mafia and a bunch of mobsters – and all for political motives.
"You can compare the way in which I acted during this incident and the way in which Amram Mitzna acted. For in the Labor Party, incidents of the most serious nature were revealed - of election forgeries, polling booths that disappeared, buying positions with money. There are police investigations, indictments, invalid appointments, false affidavits, everything. Mitzna himself was interrogated by the police regarding two corruption scandals, and his lack of purity of action and his ties with contractors and financial figures in Haifa have been publicized. I, for my part, took immediate action; Mitzna has done nothing. I announced immediately that I would distance from the Likud and from the government anyone whose election was tainted - and I did so. Mitzna did nothing, nothing at all. I appointed a committee to change and revamp the Likud’s primaries system, and adopted its recommendations. Mitzna did nothing when he saw the election forgeries - he did nothing, and will do nothing, because Mitzna and the press that accompanies him are interested not in corruption, or in proper behavior, but only in blackening the Likud. Only the Likud interests it."
“Damage was done to the Likud in the polls, but despite this, Labor stayed stuck [in these polls], and Mitzna just didn’t take off [and gain support]. So they decided to strike out at me via my sons. They took Omri, whose only sin was to come and help me as Prime Minister, and they tried to turn him into a mobster. When this did not work, they found some story about a Greek island and tried to stick it forcefully onto my son Gilad. Let it be clear: this is an old story of a few years, it has nothing to do with me, and the authorities have never asked Gilad even one question about it or to testify about it. Some journalist comes and writes a gossipy story, and the Labor Party immediately jumps on the booty.
"Gilad, who is an economist, made an financial deal - and they call it corruption! Gilad received a fee for his work, and they call it Mafia. I ask: What, have you gone crazy? Have you gone out of your minds?!
"And again, it didn't work. Mitzna was still stuck in the polls, he still can't make it, the aroma of power is still far away from them. So they go on to the next stage. Someone - whose identity is being investigated right now, by order of the Attorney-General - leaked a document filled with gossip and lies about Gilad's business dealings, as if they are tied to me. I would like to tell you the exact facts.
"More than a year ago, the State Comptroller found that donations had been taken against the law, and he informed me of such. I was astonished at the findings. I returned home, discussed it with my sons, and told them - on my own initiative - that we must return all the money to the donors immediately, without waiting - even if we must again mortgage the farm, our home, in order to do this. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only one who did so, who returned this money. Barak has not done so until today, and Mitzna and his association have not done so, even though he should have. Only I did this, on my own initiative, without anyone forcing me to do so. The Comptroller didn't tell me to return it, but I did it on my own when I heard that the donations were beyond that which were permitted. I went on my own and decided on my own to return it all.
"Now, we're talking about a large sum - almost five million shekels. I, after all, do not have financial means. Back in 1989, I removed the farm from my hands - and even before that there had been a trustee, until the boys returned from the army - as the law demanded. When the boys completed their army service, they took over the running of the farm. Today, Gilad runs it successfully, and I am not involved. This is what the law demands. I took my savings, and those of [my wife] Lili of blessed memory, and I gave about a half-million shekels - half of it in an overdraft from the bank - and Gilad took it upon himself to get the rest of the money. After a short while, he brought me the rest of the sum, a bit over four million shekels, and I then returned the money to the donors. [Actually] I returned the first half-million from our savings even before the other money came, in order to show that my intention, as opposed to others, was to return the money. With this, the incident came to an end as far as I was concerned.
"I say here clearly: I did not know exactly how the money was obtained. We had talked about mortgaging the farm, and as far as I knew then, that's what happened. When the police asked me about this, I told them exactly that, and that according to the best of my knowledge, the farm had been mortgaged. If another way had been found, fine. My son Gilad is a businessman, a successful one, and he has made money, and I’m very proud of him. I know that everything was done legally and above board, with documentation and the way it should be. By the way, -"
--At this point, Channel One television apologetically interrupted the broadcast, explaining that it must begin broadcasting the official election propaganda infomercials "in the spirit of the arrangement of the Elections Board headed by Judge Michael Cheshin." Voice of Israel Radio continued to broadcast the speech for another minute or so, however:
"...but what will be with the scandal?! After all, he who leaked, and those who blew up the story, and those who celebrated it - did not do so because they sought the truth. The truth could have been found out very simply, by asking questions, receiving answers, checking documents. But if it's done that way, then of course there's no juicy scandal, and it can't be taken advantage of for political needs. They [knew that that's] not the way to take over power. So they make up things. They tell lies, blow up gossipy stories, and deal with illusions. Take, for example, the incident of my friend Cyril Kern. He is a man who -"
--At this point, Voice of Israel Radio announced that the broadcast had to be stopped by order of Elections Board Chairman Judge Michael Cheshin, because of the electioneering that Sharon had woven into his remarks. The announcer then immediately began to interview Labor Party Secretary-General MK Ophir Pines, asking him not to engage in electioneering but rather to answer Sharon's charges that he had acted resolutely to deal with corruption on both the party and personal level, while the Labor Party leaders did not do so. Pines responded that Sharon had promised to produce facts and documentation, and instead of doing so, he produced "poisonous, deceitful, debased and vile propaganda..."
Excerpts from the remainder of Mr. Sharon's remarks:
“Kern [Sharon's old friend who loaned the money] has no, and probably will not have, business interests in Israel… Is there anything I can give him? Have you gone totally crazy?!”
Regarding Mitzna’s demand that he tell the police his story, Sharon said, “What am I supposed to tell them? About the despicable gossip and the wretched rumors they are spreading? Did he go to the police about his corruption? I refuse to play this low-down game. If the police want to talk to me, they can come; I will hide nothing.”
In conclusion, Sharon said, “I have confidence that the Israeli public will know how to differentiate between the dirty politics of cheap slander, and the politics with which, with national responsibility, we continue to manage the complex affairs of the State of Israel.”