Moshe Katsav

Moshe Katsav משה קצב
8th President of the State of Israel
Incumbent
Assumed office August 1, 2000
Preceded by	Avraham Burg (acting)
Succeeded by	Shimon Peres (elect) See footnote
Personal details
Born	(1945-12-05) December 5, 1945 Yazd, Iran
Nationality	Israeli
Political party	Likud
Spouse	Gila Katsav
On leave of absence from January 25, 2007. Dalia Itzik is Acting President. Shimon Peres will be inaugurated as President on 15 July 2007.

Moshe Katsav (Hebrew: משה קצב, originally Musā Qassāb Persian: موسی قصاب; born December 5, 1945) is the President of Israel. As of January 25, 2007, he was on a leave of absence from his presidential duties amid impending charges of crimes stemming from his alleged rape of one female subordinate and sexual harassment of others.

Katsav's term as president is scheduled end by law on 15 July 2007, but he has announced he will resign effective 1 July 2007 as the result of a plea agreement on rape charges. At the end of Katsav's full term (15 July 2007), Shimon Peres will become president. From 1 July 2007 to 15 July 2007, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, currently Acting President, will be Interim President.

Personal life

Moshe Katsav was born in Yazd, Iran. His family brought him to Tehran when he was an infant; in June 1951, when he was 5, they emigrated to Israel. He remains fluent in the Persian language. Upon arriving in Israel, the Katsav family was ultimately dispatched to an immigrant tent-camp in Israel's south, inland from the port city of Ashdod. In the winter of 1951, severe flooding inundated the camp, and Katsav's two-month old brother, Zion, was killed. Young Katsav and his family lived in a tent in the transit camp for two years. They then spent an additional four years in a temporary hut. By then, the transit camp in which the Katsavs had been living had been transformed into the "development town" of Qiryat Mal'akhi (Town of Angels, named after the donations from the Jewish community of Los Angeles which had helped make the town possible.)

Katsav attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem beginning in 1968, and while studying he taught history and mathematics in a high school. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and history.

He has been married to his wife, Gila, since 1969. The couple have five children and two grandchildren. After a 30-year career in banking, Katsav's wife has devoted herself to charity and volunteer work, especially in groups fighting domestic violence and promoting women's rights, and providing aid and services to disabled children and children from disadvantaged homes.

In July 2006 a criminal investigation against Katsav commenced regarding accusations of rape, sexual harrasment, abuse of authority, indecent exposure. In June 28, 2007 Katsav plead guilty to sexual harrassment felony charges, but not to rape. He resigned from his position as President, will have to pay compensation to the female victims and will be placed on probation. This sexual scandal has put an end to his political career.

Political career

Katsav joined the Likud party and at the young age of 24 was elected the mayor of Qiryat Mal'akhi, a small town in Israel. He was subsequently elected as a Member of the Knesset in 1977. During his time in the Knesset, Prime Minister Menachem Begin sent Katsav to Iran twice to encourage the Jews there to immigrate to Israel.

Under the governments of Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, Katsav served as the deputy Minister of Construction and Housing (1981-83). He then served as the Minister of Labor and Welfare during the National Unity Government which served in the years 1984-88. During 1988-92 he served as the Transportation Minister under Yitzhak Shamir, and under Benjamin Netanyahu's government (1996-1999), he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism.

The public positions filled by Moshe Katsav include the following: Chairman of the Iranian Immigrants Organization; Chairman of the commission to determine higher education tuition; and Member of Ben-Gurion University Board of Trustees. In addition, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

File:Honorkatzav.jpg

President Moshe Katsav accompanied by Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg reviewing IDF honor guard at the swearing-in ceremony of Katsav in the Knesset

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This file may be deleted after 2007-07-05.

Presidency

After serving as Deputy Prime Minister in Netanyahu's government, Katsav vied for the position of President, running as the opposition candidate against Shimon Peres. In a surprising upset, he defeated Peres to become the president of Israel, being elected by the Knesset on July 31, 2000. He took 63 votes (over 57 for Peres), two more than the required majority of 61, and was sworn in on August 1. He is the first President of Israel to have been sworn in for a seven-year term, as well as the first candidate from the right wing Likud party to be elected to the office. Katsav is the second non-Ashkenazi president and the first president to have been born in an Islamic country.

The office of the Israeli President is largely ceremonial, with no executive powers save pardoning prisoners and commuting sentences. Nevertheless, each president emphasizes different aspects of the role during his tenure. Katsav supported the unsuccessful 2002 cease-fire plan between Israel and the Palestinians (rejected by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon) and refused to pardon Yigal Amir, the convicted murderer of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

On April 8, 2005, the alphabetic ordering of leaders during the funeral of Pope John Paul II resulted in Katsav sitting near Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (also born in Yazd). Katsav told the press that he shook Khatami's hand and spoke to him in Farsi. Khatami later denied this .

2006 rape and sexual harassment charges

In July 2006 Katsav complained to the Attorney General of Israel, Menahem Mazuz, that he was being blackmailed by one of his employees. The investigation quickly turned against Katsav as the employee alleged sexual offences. The eventual allegations asserted that Katsav had sexually harassed up to 10 women, including the first woman's charge of rape.

On August 22, Katsav's house was raided by police who seized computers and documents. There were calls for him to resign or suspend himself from the presidency. This came only days after Justice Minister Haim Ramon's resignation after police investigation, also over alleged sexual harassment, had led to Ramon's indictment. Katsav was questioned on August 23 ("under warning") by police in connection with accusations of sexual harassment and corruption, including an accusation that he coerced a former female employee into having sex with him.

On September 7, after concluding the fourth investigation into the matter, and having received complaints from at least four different women (according to IBA's correspondent for police affairs), the Israeli Police "carefully" determined that at this time they had the evidentiary basis for an indictment. On that day, the Judges' Election Committee unanimously approved the appointment of Dorit Beinisch, a woman, as president of the Supreme Court of Israel. Katsav refrained from attending, "to prevent dispute".

On September 13, the Knesset's House Committee approved Katsav's request for a day's leave of absence so that he could refrain from attending and presiding over Beinisch's formal swearing-in ceremony, normally held in the presidential compound, now to be held in the Knesset. The Committee's chairwoman, Ruhama Avraham, did, however, advise Katsav to opt for a more lengthy leave.

All that day, Katsav was interviewed by police for the fifth time, from 10:00 am till at least 7:00 pm. Police confirmed that seven women had by then testified against Katsav, and that the allegations now also included "breach of trust, fraud, and involvement in illegal wiretapping".

Speaking on the case for the first time, on September 18, Israel's Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, stated in an interview that the likelihood of Katsav's claim that he had been made the victim of a plot was "fairly slim," given the "long line of women who complained against him." By September 21, the number of women accusing Katsav of sexual assault had risen to eight.

On October 15, 2006, police recommended pursuing rape and sexual harassment charges against Katsav. Complaints by five of the women will not be pursued because the statute of limitations has run out. On October 16, Haaretz reported that Mazuz is expected to adopt most of the police's recommendations and indict the president.

On October 29, 2006, Katsav was advised by Israel's attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, to step down from his presidential duties and suspend himself as long as the possibility of his indictment remains under consideration. Katsav, who continues to deny the allegations, has announced, via his lawyers, that if indicted he will resign.

On October 19, 2006, Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding the allegations surrounding Katsav, "Say hello to your president. He really surprised us... turned out to be quite a mighty man. He raped 10 women. I never expected it from him. He surprised all of us. We all envy him." In a call-in television program Putin did not deny making the comment but said that "using instruments such as protecting women’s rights to resolve political issues that are unconnected with this problem is absolutely inadmissible. And this is because it actually discredits the struggle for women’s rights". He also criticized the press's 'eavesdropping' on his conversation with Olmert as 'unseemly'.

Suspension from office

On January 23, 2007 Attorney-General Mazuz announced that he would consider charging Katsav with rape, sexual harassment, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, harassment of a witness and fraud. The president is immune from prosecution while in office, and could only be tried after the end of his term in August 2007 or after his resignation. The final decision on indictment would be made after a hearing where Katsav could present his case. Katsav has declined to resign as president, but had a three-month leave of absence approved by the Knesset on January 25. Parliamentary speaker Dalia Itzik has assumed the office in the interim in a "caretaker" capacity.

Claims of witchhunt and of conviction by media

On January 24, 2007 Katsav held a press conference wherein he accused journalists of persecuting him and judging him before all the evidence has been presented. He also claimed that the media has been hostile to his presidency ever since he defeated Shimon Peres, quoting an op-ed piece in The Jerusalem Post by Amotz Asa-El which claimed that Katsav's election was "the end of Zionism" and others that compared his election to the Rabin assassination.

At one point Katsav got into a heated argument with Channel 2 reporter and news anchor Gadi Sukenik, accusing him and his channel of conducting a witch-hunt. Katsav declared his intention to suspend himself temporarily in light of the charges of rape and sexual harassment, though he has refused to step down unless he is indicted. Katsav also implied that the charges against him were racially motivated, focusing on an Iranian-born Jew being picked on by Jews of European heritage.

The speech drew shock and condemnation, as well as amazement, from journalists, politicians, and legal figures. In a talk scheduled minutes after Katsav's speech ended, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that he should resign from the presidency.

Katsav yesterday delivered the speech of his life. To his great regret, under tragic circumstances. But it was a Shakespearean speech. It is a Shakespearean drama which unveils before your eyes. You occasionally rub your eyes and say: 'wait, am I in a theater or am I sitting on an arm chair at home watching my president, live?' — Yisrael Segel, Israeli author and journalist

End of term

On 7 March, 2007, Katsav survived an attempt to impeach him by the Knesset House Committee. His seven-year term was scheduled to run out constitutionally on 15 July, 2007. However, in accordance with a plea agreement, he has resigned, effective July 1, 2007. Shimon Peres was elected to succeed him on 13 June 2007.

Plea Agreement and Resolution of Legal Case

On June 28, 2007, Katsav’s lawyers reached a plea bargain with Israel’s attorney general, Menachem Mazuz. According to the deal, Katsav will plead guilty to several counts of sexual harassment and indecent acts. He will receive a suspended jail sentence and pay compensation to two of his victims. The more serious rape charges brought by the initial employee, as well as Katsav's original charges of her blackmail, have been dropped.

There was widespread condemnation of this deal among the general public and in particular from organizations devoted to women’s rights, while the attorney general said it would still shame Katsav while sparing humiliation of the office, and that there were in any event problems with the evidence owing to the lengthy timeline; Katsav's attorneys said they accepted the deal to avoid an arduous trial.

External links

• BBC Profile
• Katsav to be charged with rape - YnetNews
• [1] Moshe Katsav at Press Conference Denying the charges put against him.