JTF.ORG Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Americanhero1 on March 19, 2009, 08:59:49 AM
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JERUSALEM – Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was indicted Thursday on rape and other sexual offense charges, after calling off a plea deal that would have allowed him to escape jail time.
The 63-year-old Katsav was charged with raping a woman who once worked for him, in addition to lesser sex crimes involving two other former employees. The indictment was filed in Tel Aviv district court nearly three years after the case broke.
Katsav, who has insisted he is innocent, had no immediate comment. No trial date has been set.
Attorney General Meni Mazuz notified the former president two weeks ago that he would be charged.
Days later, Katsav delivered a 2 1/2-hour televised speech in which he denied all charges, fiercely attacked his accusers and waved a compact disc that he said would prove his innocence. Katsav has accused the media of orchestrating a witch hunt against him, implying he was a target because he represents Jews of Middle Eastern origin.
The women worked for Katsav when he was tourism minister in the 1990s and president earlier this decade. They have accused him of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment.
In 1998, Katsav forced one woman to the floor of his office at the tourism ministry, pulled off her pants and raped her, according to the indictment. A second time that year, he summoned her to a Jerusalem hotel to go over paperwork and raped her on the bed in his room, the indictment said. Katsav tried to calm his victim by saying "Relax, you'll enjoy it," the indictment read.
Katsav became president in 2000. The indictment said he harassed two women during his term, embracing them against their will and making unwanted sexual comments. On Katsav's 60th birthday in 2005, an assistant offered congratulations. He then hugged her at length, sniffing her neck, according to the indictment. She complained to police, and the indictment said Katsav later tried to persuade her to change her testimony, earning him an additional charge of obstruction of justice.
Katsav resigned two weeks before his seven-year term ended in 2007 under a plea bargain that would have required him to admit to lesser charges of sexual misconduct but avoid jail time. Last April, however, he abruptly called off the deal and said he would stand trial to clear his name.
The charges against Katsav are the most serious allegations ever brought against an Israeli leader.
Although Israel's presidency is a largely ceremonial position, the allegations roiled the country by portraying the man who was supposed to be Israel's moral compass as a predatory boss who forced himself on female employees.
Katsav was replaced by elder statesman and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_ex_president_indicted
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O.K., I get it he's a bad guy who did bad things.
The part of the article that I don't quite understand is in 1998 he raped a woman on the floor of the Office of Tourism and later in the same year he summoned that same woman to a hotel to talk "business", she shows up and he rapes her again.
I don't get it. If she was raped once by this man, why would she show up, of all places at a hotel to meet with him?
I know that if this had happened to me the first time by this guy, I would get the heck out of dodge and not meet him in a hotel or any private place.
I am not defending him, by any means, I just don't understand, why a woman would subject herself to being abused by this guy for a second time.
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O.K., I get it he's a bad guy who did bad things.
The part of the article that I don't quite understand is in 1998 he raped a woman on the floor of the Office of Tourism and later in the same year he summoned that same woman to a hotel to talk "business", she shows up and he rapes her again.
I don't get it. If she was raped once by this man, why would she show up, of all places at a hotel to meet with him?
I know that if this had happened to me the first time by this guy, I would get the heck out of dodge and not meet him in a hotel or any private place.
I am not defending him, by any means, I just don't understand, why a woman would subject herself to being abused by this guy for a second time.
You bring up a good point. Exactly due to this reason Katsav was offered a plea deal, but he quite foolishly rejected it because he insists that he never even touched any of the women not even by consent.
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O.K., I get it he's a bad guy who did bad things.
The part of the article that I don't quite understand is in 1998 he raped a woman on the floor of the Office of Tourism and later in the same year he summoned that same woman to a hotel to talk "business", she shows up and he rapes her again.
I don't get it. If she was raped once by this man, why would she show up, of all places at a hotel to meet with him?
I know that if this had happened to me the first time by this guy, I would get the heck out of dodge and not meet him in a hotel or any private place.
I am not defending him, by any means, I just don't understand, why a woman would subject herself to being abused by this guy for a second time.
You bring up a good point. Exactly due to this reason Katsav was offered a plea deal, but he quite foolishly rejected it because he insists that he never even touched any of the women not even by consent.
Why is that foolish? If you were accused of rape, would you take a plea bargain? That is on the court records then. If he's innocent, then he should be able to plead not guilty.
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O.K., I get it he's a bad guy who did bad things.
The part of the article that I don't quite understand is in 1998 he raped a woman on the floor of the Office of Tourism and later in the same year he summoned that same woman to a hotel to talk "business", she shows up and he rapes her again.
I don't get it. If she was raped once by this man, why would she show up, of all places at a hotel to meet with him?
I know that if this had happened to me the first time by this guy, I would get the heck out of dodge and not meet him in a hotel or any private place.
I am not defending him, by any means, I just don't understand, why a woman would subject herself to being abused by this guy for a second time.
You bring up a good point. Exactly due to this reason Katsav was offered a plea deal, but he quite foolishly rejected it because he insists that he never even touched any of the women not even by consent.
Why is that foolish? If you were accused of rape, would you take a plea bargain? That is on the court records then. If he's innocent, then he should be able to plead not guilty.
He is going to be convicted for a much greater felony of sexual assault, possibly even rape. He also has to pay millions of shekels to his attorneys. I don't think he is completely innocent as he claims because there is a strong evidence against him.
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In a sane Israel, Israel's current president, prime minister, and every single one of both throughout Israel's history would be charged with raping the entire Israeli nation.
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Do not judge falsely... It is not good to judge without knowing the facts in the case. It is a violation of several mitzvot to do so.
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O.K., I get it he's a bad guy who did bad things.
The part of the article that I don't quite understand is in 1998 he raped a woman on the floor of the Office of Tourism and later in the same year he summoned that same woman to a hotel to talk "business", she shows up and he rapes her again.
I don't get it. If she was raped once by this man, why would she show up, of all places at a hotel to meet with him?
I know that if this had happened to me the first time by this guy, I would get the heck out of dodge and not meet him in a hotel or any private place.
I am not defending him, by any means, I just don't understand, why a woman would subject herself to being abused by this guy for a second time.
You bring up a good point. Exactly due to this reason Katsav was offered a plea deal, but he quite foolishly rejected it because he insists that he never even touched any of the women not even by consent.
And maybe he's telling the truth.
I wouldn't put it past Peres or the Israeli establishment to do ANYTHING to get Peres into power or get someone else they don't like OUT of power.
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O.K., I get it he's a bad guy who did bad things.
The part of the article that I don't quite understand is in 1998 he raped a woman on the floor of the Office of Tourism and later in the same year he summoned that same woman to a hotel to talk "business", she shows up and he rapes her again.
I don't get it. If she was raped once by this man, why would she show up, of all places at a hotel to meet with him?
I know that if this had happened to me the first time by this guy, I would get the heck out of dodge and not meet him in a hotel or any private place.
I am not defending him, by any means, I just don't understand, why a woman would subject herself to being abused by this guy for a second time.
You bring up a good point. Exactly due to this reason Katsav was offered a plea deal, but he quite foolishly rejected it because he insists that he never even touched any of the women not even by consent.
And maybe he's telling the truth.
I wouldn't put it past Peres or the Israeli establishment to do ANYTHING to get Peres into power or get someone else they don't like OUT of power.
I agree with you totally. Many people viewed Katzav as a religious president of Israel and the self hating beasts like smolmert and peresite wanted nothing more than to embarras religious jews. Falsely accusing Katzav seems like the perfect way for them to do it. Now I don't know the details of this case and if Katzav did commit a crime, that is indeed hideous. All I am saying is that I would never put it past the self hating ki*es over there to frame what they considered to be a religious jew.
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DownwithIslam, you probably have a point but Katzav is still a sellout fraud too. He isn't as bad as Tziporah Hitler but he's still bad.