Sha’ul Mofaz: Bandwagon Jumper, Political Opportunist, Lacking the Competency and Moral Integrity Needed to Lead…

The Latest Bandwagon Jump of Sha’ul Mofaz, by Hillel Fendel (Israel National News)

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The call by Cabinet Minister Sha’ul Mofaz for a public state commission of inquiry into the government’s handling of the Lebanon war prompts more criticism of his political opportunism.

Transportation Minister Sha’ul Mofaz issued a statement last night (Sunday) stating that only a state commission with real “teeth” can return the nation’s trust in the government and in the Kadima Party.

With public momentum rising for a call for a public inquiry, Mofaz (pictured, right) becomes the first senior Kadima member to come out against Prime Minister Olmert on the question of what type of committee should investigate the war. Olmert continues to resist the calls for a state inquiry, stating that committees personally appointed by himself would be sufficient.

Minister Meir Sheetrit – like Mofaz, a former Likud member – initially said that a full-fledged commission should investigate the war period, but later reneged, saying he “has confidence” in Olmert’s view of the matter.

Another prominent member of Kadima, Prof. Uriel Reichman, who was elected to the Knesset but resigned after a few days when he was not appointed a Cabinet minister, has also come out in favor of a state commission of inquiry. “We have had enough of this farce of appointing committees whose members are disqualified for conflict of interest,” Reichman said. “There can be no substitute for a committee whose members are appointed by a Supreme Court justice.”

Olmert consulted with Mofaz, a former Chief of Staff and Defense Minister, during the recent war, but their relationship has been largely tense over the past several months. Mofaz wished to continue as Defense Minister in the present government, and was unhappy with the Transportation Ministry appointment Olmert gave him.

Sources close to Olmert said that Mofaz himself would head the list of those being questioned by any investigative committee that is established. This, because Mofaz was the IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister during most of the six years during which Hizbullah was allowed to build itself up.

Interior Minister Roni Bar-On hinted that Mofaz’s decision was tainted with politics: “If it had come at the beginning, I would have been able to accept it, but when it comes after this whole long process, it looks like a type of manipulation and not something honest.”

Bar-On said that a state inquiry would not reveal the truth, but would rather “cause those involved to evade responsibility, hide facts and shift blame on to others.”

With his latest announcement, Mofaz has cemented his political opportunist reputation. Long a political hawk, he announced his support for Ariel Sharon’s Disengagement plan early on, in February 2004. Less than two years later, in mid-December 2005, Mofaz quit the Likud and joined Sharon’s Kadima Party – just two days after he said he would not do so.

Mofaz’s resignation from the Likud came a few days after he said that politicians who switch from party to party “show a lack of stability and a lack of leadership,” and just two days after he criticized Kadima, saying, “I don’t think Kadima will show the proper determination to stand up for Israel’s critical needs.”

• In January of this year, the State Comptroller’s report found that Mofaz, as Defense Minister, had given orders against fortifying Jewish towns adjacent to Gaza, so as not to lead to a perception that the disengagement might worsen Israeli security.
• Senior army officers were quoted at the time as saying that actions by a Defense Minister to delay the reinforcing of the towns for political reasons, even while knowing that security would decrease, should lead to his resignation.