2007年VOA标准英语-Israel's President Pleads Guilty to Sexual Hara

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
28 June 2007

Israel's disgraced president, Moshe Katsav, has pleaded guilty to sexual harassment² charges and been forced to resign.  But as Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, there is public anger over the fact that he will not be put on trial or spend time in prison.

Moshe Katsav (30 May 2005 file photo)

Israel's attorney general, Meni Mazuz, announced a surprise plea bargain, in which Moshe Katsav pleaded guilty to charges of sexual harassment, indecent acts and harassment of a witness.  But the most serious charge against him, rape³, was dropped.  He received a suspended sentence and will avoid jail time.

Mazuz said that in the course of a year, Katsav sunk from being "Israel's number one citizen to a convicted sex offender⁴."

Allegations against Katsav surfaced a year ago, and eventually four women who worked with him in the president's office and earlier when he was tourism minister accused him of sexual misconduct.  One accused him of rape.

Until now, Katsav had denied the allegations, but the plea bargain amounts to an admission of guilt¹.

The scandal is a major embarrassment⁵, because the president is supposed to be the moral voice of the nation.  It is one of many corruption⁶ scandals that have dogged senior officials and eroded⁷ public confidence in the government.

Israeli Education Minister Yuli Tamir described the plea bargain as an obstruction⁸ of justice.

Tamir told Israel Radio that the deal seriously harms the struggle to get women to come forward and expose sexual harassment.

Nevertheless, Katsav was disgraced and forced to resign.  And women's rights lawyer Tziona Yair believes that is a step in the right direction.

"I hope that a case like this will make women realize that they are not the ones to stand on trial, that they are the ones who, in fact, have been victimized, and they should feel free to speak their mind and come out with any allegations that they feel that they have been hurt with," she said.

The woman who accused Kastav of rape described the plea bargain as "outrageous⁹."

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

5 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

8 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

9 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。