MK (Likud) Moshe Feiglin is counted among those who feel an elected official should not have to reveal his personal assets. His statement was in response from Channel 2 News to reveal his assets.
The request appears to have been prompted by candidates in the presidential race revealing their wealth to the public. This was likely fueled by the fact that presidential candidate Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was compelled to step down from the race amid allegations of tax evasion and related charges.
Using his Facebook page to get his message to the public, Feiglin wrote “I do not have more than one property and I do not have any hidden financial assets. So why not bother filling out the form? Because my assets have nothing to do with my integrity and my assets are not of interest since they were obtained honestly.
“Those who earn their money honestly do not need to feel ashamed.
“The idea behind the request is if you have “X”, it is a sign that you are a thief. Power (money) = evil. Weakness (poverty) = good.
“This is a Christian community doctrine (the opposite of Islam). However, in Judaism the wealthy and the poor may be righteous regardless of their assets”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
His statement was in response from Channel 2 News to reveal his assets.
Please edit your work.
I can not agree with him. Not only should every elected official be required to declare all his assets but every public employee as well. It is an unfortunate reality that many whom the public entrusts with power abuse that power for personal gain. Furthermore, abuse of power should be seen as a form of treason against the nation.
After all, what is the difference between someone who sells information to an enemy that leads to the death of soldiers or an inspector or clerk that accepts a bribe to approve a building that eventually collapses and kills people? Betrayal is betrayal! A dead civilian is just as dead as a dead soldier.
See your own story as an illustration: The Yeshiva World Rabbi Pinto Expected to Sign a State Witness Agreement « » Frum Jewish News
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/238524/rabbi-pinto-expected-to-sign-a-state-witness-agreement.html
While Feiglin is indeed correct that Judaism is not antagonistic to wealth acquired through halachicallly permissible means, Judaism has FAR greater requirements for transparency than any other religious or political system I’ve ever heard of. And his assets were obtained honestly he should have nothing to worry about. Israel unfortunately has had a long history of politicians abusing the public trust for financial gain and the allegedly religious politicians have not been immune to the temptation of corruption. Feiglin needs to disclose.