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The One Way In Which Israel And Palestine Are Equal

Well, actually it's the governments of Israel and Palestine that are equal in this way. And it's in the propensity of high public officials to engage in sexual aggression against women.

In fact, Israel wins the prize on this count. Former president Moshe Katzav resigned from office in order to ward off (unsuccessfully, it appears) an eight-count indictment on serious charges. The trial is now in process. At least two senior ministers--no longer senior and no longer ministers--have also had similar charges pressed against them.

Wrongdoing does not often come to the top--especially if the wrongdoing is done by men at the top--in Palestinian society. But, in this instance, a former high intelligence official named Fahmi Shabaneh made the accusations against Rafiq Husseini, chief of staff to Mahmoud Abbas, the oh so weak president of the Palestinian Authority, and is now threatening to reveal other sexual secrets about other P.A. officials. The report is in the New York Times.

In "Palestine," people in the street and in higher places blamed Israel for concocting the charges. The Palestinian Authority, the Times discloses, has issued an arrest warrant for Shabaneh on charges of collaborating with the enemy. The Mossad can do anything.

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