Editoriais de quinta, 27 de abril *

The Jerusalem Post writes: "Just two weeks ago Jews around the world celebrated Pessah, which emphasizes the Jewish people's escape from slavery and oppression in Egypt. The themes of redemption and freedom, cornerstones upon which the nascent Jewish nation were built, still resonate today. There is bitter irony, therefore, in the release of a United Nations report this week which found that Israel is among the top destinations of trafficking in humans for sexual exploitation or forced labor. The report, "Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns," identified 137 destination countries into which victims are smuggled. Israel was among the top 10... The fact that the Jewish state - of all countries - is among the most popular havens for such loathsome practices is a disgrace. Judaism values not only freedom but human dignity and protection of those who are powerless to help themselves. Slavery in our midst is intolerable and Israel must work to eradicate it."

Haaretz comments: "Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party propose stripping a significant proportion of Israeli Arabs of their citizenship as part of a territorial exchange agreement with the Palestinian Authority. This unacceptable position, even if it will not become part of the new government's platform, contributes to the deligitimization of Israel's Arab citizens. The fact that Lieberman is thought of as a legitimate partner in the government while the Arab parties have been rejected out of hand, is a mark of disgrace for Israel's political culture. There is no connection between that and disqualifying Lieberman as public security minister due to the continued investigation against him. Such a disqualification is unreasonable. The probe of criminal suspicions against Lieberman has gone on far longer than reasonable to the point where it constitutes a delay of justice. The investigation is connected to the funding of the 1999 elections, and began following publication of the 2000 State Comptroller's Report. Since then, newspaper headlines have appeared that have damaged his reputation and linked him financially with the Russian mafia. No evidence has been found for these suspicions, and no charges have been filed... Even if Lieberman's inflammatory style does not bear imitating and his political ideas are worthy of censure, his claims regarding the drawn-out investigation against him are justified. A probe cannot last forever, whether or not the subject is a public figure."

[Yediot Aharonot and Hatzofeh were unavailable today.]