WITH ALL THE SCANDALS attached to Israeli politicians today I yearn for the days when an honest crook ran for, and won, a seat in the Knesset (Israeli parliament).
The last "honest" politician was Shmuel Flatto Sharon (sometimes Flatto-Sharon).
According to Wikipedia, the Polish-born, raised in France Flatto Sharon arrived in Israel in 1975, just ahead of the French authorities who wanted him for allegedly embezzling $60 million.
Despite almost a complete lack of Hebrew and no established party backing, his "Flatto Sharon" party won two seats in the 1977 Knesset.
Flatto Sharon never denied the was a crook or that the reason he ran for the Knesset seat was to avoid extradition to France.
His one term in the Knesset was his first and last.
Flatto Sharon later was convicted of buying votes to win election; he did community service for his crime.
ISRAEL HAS at last count at least 24 parties, although some are so small that their impact mostly is to draw off votes from one of the major parties, of which there are a baker's dozen, including the Arab (Muslim) parties. So much for apartheid and inequality.
The Wikipedia entry continues that Flatto-Sharon is now an established multi-millionaire and works as a radio talk-show host; his show, named Flatto Bli Heshbon (Flatto without accountability) is broadcast on numerous stations, including Radius 100, Lev HaMedina, Radio Haifa and Radio Darom FM.
Flatto Sharon is out of politics, but he is hardly out of sight - or sound.
He gave an interview to the Jerusalem Post in 2006 where he told the reporter " I want to arm every one of Israel's friends with the intellectual weapons for its defense."
The Post article continues:
It is perhaps no wonder, then, that his current radio show, "Platto bli heshbon" (roughly translated as "Flatto, no holds barred") is broadcast on several local stations, and has a wide following. This he attributes to his no-nonsense, "telling it like it is" confrontations with politicians - a format that recently got him into trouble of another sort: being taken off the air for two weeks for calling certain Arab MKs "traitors."
Flatto Sharon's take on the Israel bashing is similar to this scrivener's. According to him, I've had the idea for years. Now it seemed more urgent.
Communications is the one area in which Israel is a failure. In every other realm we excel. In fact, everything else we touch in this country turns to gold. There's no other country like it.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
A couple of months after the establishment of the state in 1948, there was a first official visit by the king and queen of Indonesia. A few hours before their plane arrived, suddenly it dawned on [the welcoming committee] that there were no flowers to give to the queen. A plane was immediately sent to Cyprus to get a bouquet for her. That's because there were no flowers in this country.
A mere 15 years later, Israel had become one of the largest exporters of flowers in the world.
Then there's the military. Not only is the IDF considered the best army in the world, but Israel used to have to rely on the United States for arms. Gradually, we began manufacturing our own arms; since then, we have become the third largest exporter of arms in the world.
The same goes for the diamond industry. I could go on endlessly with examples like this. Israel really is a magical country. In all of history, there never was a people who accomplished what we have achieved here.
So I ask you: A people who is capable of such wonders can't manage to convey a simple message? In that area, we're a bunch of idiots. Maybe it's not that we're a "bunch of idiots," but that there's no way to convey Israel's message to an anti-Semitic world? I don't believe that. In the first place, if you allow an initial lie to go unchallenged, it becomes perpetuated. It's like drugs that get into the bloodstream - it's hard to flush them out.
Maybe it's time for the honest crook to revive his one-person party and stand once again for a seat in the Knesset. He probably wouldn't have to buy votes this time, given the in-fighting in the "major" parties.
