Katsav Right about Rabin, Olmert a Little Muddled about Oslo
Israeli President Moshe Katsav has rightly declared that the assassin of Prime Minister Rabin should rot in prison forever:
President Moshe Katsav vowed Thursday that he would never grant a pardon to Yigal Amir - the extreme right wing activist who assassinated former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally in Tel Aviv in November 1995... "I will not trim [Amir's] punishment and I will recommend that those who succeed me [as president] also deny him pardon," Katsav said.
At a seperate ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert became a little over-exuberant in praise of Rabin:
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday at a separate memorial for Rabin that "From the distance of time and perspective, Yitzhak Rabin's Oslo Agreement brought on a process of disillusionment by the Israel public and the formation of a more realistic, sober and balanced perception of the moves Israel has to make."
Even though we count ourselves among the cult of Rabin (Arafat never would've tried to pull the crap that he pulled on Netanyahu if Rabin was still alive), Olmert might have things exactly backwards: the Oslo Agreement brought on a process of euphoria and dreams of a new Middle East that disabled the Israeli public from realizing the growing threat of militant Islamism in what used to be a mostly secular Palestinian society.
President Moshe Katsav vowed Thursday that he would never grant a pardon to Yigal Amir - the extreme right wing activist who assassinated former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally in Tel Aviv in November 1995... "I will not trim [Amir's] punishment and I will recommend that those who succeed me [as president] also deny him pardon," Katsav said.
At a seperate ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert became a little over-exuberant in praise of Rabin:
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday at a separate memorial for Rabin that "From the distance of time and perspective, Yitzhak Rabin's Oslo Agreement brought on a process of disillusionment by the Israel public and the formation of a more realistic, sober and balanced perception of the moves Israel has to make."
Even though we count ourselves among the cult of Rabin (Arafat never would've tried to pull the crap that he pulled on Netanyahu if Rabin was still alive), Olmert might have things exactly backwards: the Oslo Agreement brought on a process of euphoria and dreams of a new Middle East that disabled the Israeli public from realizing the growing threat of militant Islamism in what used to be a mostly secular Palestinian society.
