A dramatic, prime-time televised announcement that he would resign as prime minister after his Kadima Party held primaries in September signals the end of Olmert's political career. ... Ehud Olmert's fate can definitely be viewed as an Israeli tragedy.
He began his life as an outsider–a "prince," as it's known in the Israeli jargon, of a leading right-wing Revisionist family (his father, Mordechai, was a member of the 3rd and 4th Knesset for the Herut Party). When David Ben-Gurion and his social democratic Mapai party reigned supreme in the first decades of the state, he declared that every party was a candidate for a coalition government "except for Herut and Maki" (the Communists). In those days, Ben-Gurion even refused to mention the name of Herut leader Menachem Begin...
Thus, when the young Hebrew University student Ehud Olmert met his fellow student and future wife, Aliza, who came from a Communist family, it was a meeting of outcasts. They have apparently managed a successful marriage over the years, despite the fact that Aliza and all of their four children have remained on the left. Olmert has even admitted that discussions around the family table have influenced his views. ... Read the entire article by our Israel-based colleague online at The Nation's website.
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