The popular uprising in the Arab world has given Israelis an opportunity to remind the global community that it is the only “stable democracy” in the region. Israeli politicians often say that what is happening in the Arab world can never take place in the Jewish state where no one is above the law.

On the day thousands of Arabs were rioting on the streets of Syria, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain, an Israeli court in Tel Aviv sentenced former President Moshe Katsav to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of rape and sexual harassment.

Katsav, who will report to prison on May 8, is the highest ranking Israeli to ever be thus sentenced. In his capacity as President he was referred to as the country’s first citizen, but now he will be joining a few other VIPs in prison, including the former finance and health ministers of Israel. The last two have been jailed on fraud charges.

Israelis have also been highlighting the fact that their former President was sentenced by a panel of three judges headed by a Christian Arab called George Keraa. His role is being presented as evidence that the Arab minority in Israel is treated with respect and its qualified representatives can reach top positions. Of course, this is crucial to Israel’s public relations campaign because the Jewish state is often accused of employing a policy of discrimination or apartheid against its 1.5 million-strong Arab minority.

Many Arabs and Jews openly admit that there is discrimination, especially in two fields: lack of public services and funds, as well as work opportunities. But that has not prevented some Arabs like judge Keraa from climbing to the top of their profession. Another Arab citizen has made it to the high court, while a few more have been recruited as ambassadors and more junior diplomats.

On the day Katsav was sentenced Israeli politicians across the political spectrum said it was a sad day for the state, but it also showed the strength of the country’s democratic and legal systems. Such comments were meant to underline how across the border in Arab countries such punishment meted out to high officials is unthinkable. Indeed in the Arab world, where dictators rule the roost, government officials are rarely if ever held accountable.

Other misdemeanours of Arab leaders are similarly pounced upon and compared with what happens in Israel. The story of the gold bars hoarded by Tunisian, Libyan and Egyptian leaders has been played up to compare and contrast with the experience of former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin who was obliged to resign following the revelation that his wife had maintained a forgotten foreign bank account with a comparatively paltry $200 in credit.

Israelis also point out that the recently resigned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could also soon find himself behind bars on charges of fraud. As for the current Prime Minister, Binyamin Netahnyau, the authorities have launched an inquiry into allegations that one of his recent trips abroad was subsidised by wealthy local businessmen.

Some Israelis say that the media is all too often engaged in a witch hunt where politicians are concerned and that any alleged misdemeanours should not be taken too seriously. They argue that the country has corrupt individuals, but the system is not as corrupt as it is in the Arab world.

Cynics argue that these political exposures, including stories of sexual harassment by the high and mighty, provide a welcome relief from the daily pressure of living on the frontline. Israelis would prefer to wake up in the morning and read how their former President had sex with his secretary in his office rather than see pictures of victims of terror attacks.

Reporters here are no respecters of individuals and will all too often go into graphic personal details where sex crimes of the high and mighty are concerned. They do not observe the unwritten rules of the Indian media where well founded gossip about the private lives of powerful politicians have never seen the light of day.