J.Post October 4: Gross Betrayal

Sir, – The arguments presented by Yonah Jeremy Bob against appealing Ehud Olmert’s corruption verdict (“A parade of errors?,” Rule of Law, September 28) initially appear to be quite compelling.

Bob cites the waste of resources and additional embarrassment of the state prosecution as the underpinnings of his thesis. The cogency of his arguments, based on additional considerations of legal technicalities, seems to be almost convincing.

However, he [goes on to ask a most patently absurd and morally misguided question, that both eclipses the merits and shatters the substance of his position. He asks,] about the wisdom of “toppling a prime minister for ‘breach of public trust’ – the criminal equivalent of jay-walking....”

It must be pointed out that the misdemeanor of the jaywalker affects only the jaywalker, but breach of public trust by an elected official does violence to his office and is a gross betrayal of all those who have elected him. [Conviction by the court for such a betrayal and then sentenced to a rather inappropriate sentence, certainly warrants an appeal by the prosecution who would thereby give the proper weight to the seriousness of the crime.]

ZEV CHAMUDOT 
Petah Tikva