The Katzav Trial: Historic shift or more of the same?
Today is a very important day for women in Israel. This morning opened the rape and sexual assault trial of former President of Israel Moshe Katzav. Today is the day we will begin to find out whether Israel is ready to tackle the issue of violence against women, even in halls of power, or whether the good ol’ boys club will continue to dominate public opinion. I’m cautiously optimistic that there have been some signs of change, but I’m going to be following events carefully.
I’ve been blogging about this for a while — I commented on the jaw-dropping press conference of “Aleph”, the accuser whose story is now excluded from the indictment; I commented on the juxtaposition of Katzav and convicted rapist actor Hanan Goldblatt, and I brought in a recent interview with Gila Katzav and drew some ire for making generalizations about being the wife of a rapist even before he was convicted. (Gila did not come to court today, by the way.)
Now the entire saga is about to come to a head. This is not just about a battle over the law, but a fight for Israeli culture. Will the voices of those who understand the dynamics of sexual assault finally have their fair hearing, educating the public as well as the legal system about what a woman goes through when facing physical, emotional and sexual violence? Or, will the voices of backlash, the ones backing the charm and power of Katzav who doubt, distrust and often dislike women, dominate public opinion and keep Israel in the dark ages when it comes to women? We shall see.
The good news is that Katzav is, at this point, his own worst enemy. His absurd displays at his two press conferences — the second of which was so bad that his advisers quit before he even left the podium — have definitely caused many Israelis, even those in the ranks of the media and governmental establishment, to keep their distance. He kind of looks and acts insane. Still, distancing oneself from a man on trial who seems disturbed is not the same as bringing public opinion towards a pro-women stance.
Nevertheless, this may yet become a watershed event for Israeli society. We can at least watch hopefully.
