Maybe everyone’s being a bit hard on Israeli military chief of staff Dan Halutz about his alleged mid-war stock dump (the real shanda is how this guy’s portfolio was worth only $25,000). Halutz has got plenty of company in scandalville. For those keeping score: Israel’s justice minister, Haim Ramon, is about to be indicted for sexual harassment; President Moshe Katsav is being accused of coercing a female underling to have sex; Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under investigation regarding a real estate deal; Tzachi Hanegbi, a top member of Israel’s ruling party and a former minister indicted for fraud, breach of trust and election bribery; the attorney general has called on one chief rabbi to resign over the issue of inappropriate gifts and had to determine that the other one did not help his wife and son kidnap and beat his daughter’s boyfriend.

Did we mention that Omri Sharon, the son of the former prime minister, recently did time in connection to a fundraising scandal involving his father’s campaign? At least Israel’s opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu is clean — in 2000 the attorney general rejected a police recommendation to try him on corruption charges.

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