Will Israeli society collapse because they sent a former prime minister to prison?

[yurbud]

I'm not with many past and present actions of Israel toward, Palestinians, their neighbors, and even the US, but on this issue, they may have proven themselves a superior democracy to ours.

From Richard Nixon through George W. Bush, we have been told solemnly and repeatedly that we can't hold our presidents accountable for serious crimes (sexual indiscretions apparently excepted) or the very pillars of our form of government would collapse.

Come to think of it, that argument was expanded in 2008 to cover Wall Street banks and their executives.

Now Israel has done us a great favor and not only convicted one of their former prime ministers of a a crime, but sentenced him to prison time.

What happens as a result should set a precedent for us. If Israeli civil society collapse in shock and sudden loss of faith in government, the somber warnings of our senior politicians and MSM will be proven wise and sound.

If Israeli society and polity continues more or less as before or is even improved by this action, SHOULDN'T WE FOLLOW THEIR EXAMPLE?

What do you think will happen in Israel as a result of this conviction and sentencing?

1 vote, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Israelis will go mad and froth at the mouth, tear the clothes, and put on sack cloth and ashes and demand a dictator or king instead unreliable democracy
	0 (0%)
	There will be a great uproar, but Israel's government will continue in pretty much the same fashion as before.
	0 (0%)
	There will be a lot of discussion for at least a full news cycle, that's about it.
	1 (100%)
	Most Israelis will say, "Meh"
	0 (0%)
	This will actually lead to reforms and greater accountability for their elected officials
	0 (0%)
	OTHER
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[frazzled]

1. Not at all, but look how many years (decades) it took to convict him

This was for taking bribes, passed to his brother, in a construction deal during the time he was mayor of Jerusalem, back in the 1990s:

But Judge Rozen, in issuing a searing 700-page verdict on March 31, said that Mr. Olmert “told lies in court” and that his version of events “has been rejected by me in every way.” The judge found that half a million shekels — about $144,000 today — had been funneled in a series of postdated checks from a financier hired to ease Holyland’s path through the city planning process to Mr. Olmert’s brother, Yossi.

Mr. Olmert was ordered Tuesday to pay restitution plus a fine of nearly $300,000.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/world/middleeast/court-sentences-former-israeli-prime-minister-ehud-olmert.html?ref=world&_r=0

And that's for something that is a straightforward civil crime, not something abstract like "lying us into war." The latter, though easy to prove that, say, Bush lied, is not so easy to prosecute, because of laws that give the president a lot of leeway to do shit.

We put many of our politicians--governors mostly--in prison here in Illinois. It does have a negative effect on society in a way, because people get very jaded about government in general. Which is not to say they shouldn't be put in jail.

[yurbud]

2. good points. That means it's been long enough we can safely prosecute Papa Bush for Iran/Contra &

October Surprise.

He wasn't president when he did either of those and a lot of time has passed.