Olmert’s Gag

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The New York Post clears some of the fog in the Ehud Olmert bribe case, which is currently under a gag order in Israel; however, we, as Israelies, are not allowed to read about it in our newspaers. However, a few brave bloggers decided to link to the article; Velvet Underground links to the article by linking to the NY Post’s “Interesting Article (according to her); Mosif links and explains that this is according to foreign sources and “The One” links to the article and states that it is her public interest. Those three popular blogs link to a post in the NY Post about Israel’s Prime Minister’s Investigation and the potential developments there.

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However, it may turn out that in a few months from now, not only that these bloggers may be blocked, but also the NY Post and any website linking to it in order to keep the Gag Order in tact. Theoretically, when Israel’s Censorship Bill comes into law, we may be all coerced into reading only websites the government decides we may read. Once an apparatus which enables the government to block websites will be installed, the uses may not be only to protect kids. This is the “Slippery Slope”.

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Unlike what Moshe Lador, the Attorney General, stated that the public interest is to leave the Gag Order in tact. However, he is wrong. The public interest will be hurt only if the publication of such evidence will cause false testimonies and collection of evidence; in this case, publishing the information in the NY Post did not do that.

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Will blocking the NY Post make these links disappear? The Information already leaked out, so it is in the public domain; no gag order, no warrant and no trial can make it go away; Leave it be.

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