he had no regrets over his
decision to "go public,"
which he said was motivated
by the overriding need to
block a criminal attempt to
blackmail him.
Mr. Netanyahu's conduct
has been widely criticized in
the press. Commentators
charge that he sought to
make political gain or
mitigate his political loss at
the expense of his wife's
honor.
Several leading columnists
have pointed out that while
Israeli politics has had its
fair share of sex scandals in
the past, the local media
have almost always kept
them out of the public eye.
They predict that Mr.
Netanyahu's choice to go
public with the issue will
now push politicians' private
lives into the public domain.
Annual Festival
Honors Tzadik
Jerusalem (JTA) —
Thousands gathered this
week to observe the annual
Baba Sali festival in
Netivot, marking the ninth
anniversary of the death of
Rabbi Shalom Abuhatzeira.
The Moroccan-born rabbi,
better known as Baba Sali,
was a religious leader
believed to have possessed
miraculous powers.
However, as time passes
since his death, interest in
the festivities seems to be
fading.
The attendance hardly at-
tained the 25,000 who took
part in the ceremonies last
year and was a far cry from
the crowds of 200,000 who
packed the southern devel-
opment town in previous
years. There was plenty of
parking.
Politicians who in the past
used to go there to improve
contacts with the consti-
tuency of the Moroccan
community did not show up,
partly because general elec-
tions still seem to be more
than three years away.
But Rabbi Baruch
Abuhatzeira, Baba Sali's
son, said it had been his
decision, since he wanted to
regain the "popular spirit"
of the festivities and relin-
quish the political colors
which accompanied it.
The thousands who did
come, however, were just as
excited as in the past.
They spilled water on
Baba Sali's grave and read
Psalms, hoping that the
dead tzadik would bless
them. They sought spiritual
and physical aid from his
son.
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55