Q&A: Oh, the Corruption
Oh, the Corruption
Question
Why, in your view, are mere suspicions of receiving cigars and champagne "being corrupt to the marrow of his bones," but on the other hand, personally and publicly promising your voters (and even signing it) that "you will not sit with an Arab party" or that "the law of Netzarim is the law of Tel Aviv," and then two minutes later doing exactly the opposite—is that not corruption?
Is there not "verbal deception" in the Shulchan Arukh?
If there is, then why didn’t Bennett also "earn" harsh labels here like Netanyahu did?
And beyond the halakhic issue, aren’t false promises דווקא a more morally problematic matter than cigars and champagne?
If you hold that cigars and champagne are less severe (halakhically and morally) than verbal deception toward the general public, why do you keep taking digs specifically at Bibi and repeatedly saying that he is corrupt and all that, while about others I haven’t seen you write anything about corruption?
Answer
This is not the place to write an essay about Bibi. There is no comparison. There is no one as corrupt as Bibi in our politics. Promises made before elections should already be taken with a grain of salt, and this is well known. That’s what everyone does, whether you like it or not. Especially since one can always say, “Things seen from there are not seen from here.” But in his case, the lying is pathological. You won’t find a single true word from him even by accident. Beyond his incitement against the entire universe, the manipulations and paranoia that lead him to throw away good people once he has used them up, and of course the testimony about the gifts, which shocks any person who has not yet completely turned to stone. These are not suspicions but clear testimonies. The question of what criminal statute this falls under, if any, does not really interest me in this context. The court will decide that.
Now an argument will start here, and I have no interest or energy to get into it. Anyone who does not see this on his own has eyes and a mind that have been plastered over.
Discussion on Answer
Gantz
To Haim — greetings,
Since voting is done in secret, and it is said, “A gift in secret pacifies anger,” then it is fitting to vote secretly for a party in which a member named Matan serves. Likewise, secret voting also suits Ms. Shasha, who is also in that same party. And all the more so since the head of the party is "Binyamin," whose symbol is the "yashefeh," meaning: "there is a mouth here, but it stays silent" 🙂
Best regards, Gadiel Halevi Satarshaf
Can you answer seriously?
Rabbi, please, just one small question: who did you vote for in the last election?