Moshe Katsav, the former president who was convicted of rape and released from prison about five years ago, is publishing an autobiographical memoir, Israel Today has learned.
The book, which will be published by Sefri Tzameret, will be distributed starting next week and includes the entire story of Katsav's life, including extensive coverage of the rape and sexual offenses case for which he was convicted, and for which he ran five years in prison.
A perusal of the book reveals that Katsav does not admit and adheres to his version that he did nothing wrong and that a "false plot" was sewn against him, as he calls it.
The former president says that he considered positively running for prime minister after the end of his term, and hints that the sexual offenses affair came into the world to prevent him from doing so.
Moshe Katsav's book,
It should be noted that Katsav was convicted by the district court of rape, indecent assault and sexual harassment of women who were subordinate to him while serving as tourism minister and president, as well as obstruction of justice.
Katsav appealed the ruling, but the Supreme Court rejected his appeal on the matter and his request for a retrial and ruled that he had not been distorted.
"Damn the day I was elected president"
Regardless of his guilt, which as stated has been proven in court, throughout the book it is apparent that Katsav is still suffering from trauma following the affair.
"Damn the day I was elected president," he notes in one place, and in several other places in the book he calls what was done to him, in his view, "execution."
Along with his allegations against law enforcement systems, Katsav also makes harsh allegations against the Israeli media, to which he attributes personal persecution against him and calls it "drunk on power and imbued with a sense of messianism, righteousness and purity."
In his book, Katsav accuses the police and the then spokesman, Menachem Mazuz, of revenge against the background of previous disagreements. He also accuses Mazuz of "conceiving, giving birth and raising the plot."
Katsav also refers to senior figures in the political system, especially in the context of their attitude towards him against the background of the affair.
Among other things, he says that shortly after the affair broke out, Ehud Barak contacted him and asked to strengthen him, and elsewhere he stung Benjamin Netanyahu, who "on the day the court convicted me, defined it today as 'deep appreciation and pride in the justice system.' "He himself was questioned by the police about corruption and fraud and severely attacked the law enforcement authorities."
Back to political life and childhood
Although about half of the book deals with an affair that shattered his public career, Katsav also reviews all his years before the interrogation, trial and conviction.
He tells of his mother who gave birth to him at the age of only 16 in the city of Yazd in Iran, his immigration to Israel, his years in transit, his entry into politics and his election as head of the Kiryat Malachi council at the age of only 24, his presence at the country's decision-making nodes In the presidential election, and during his years in the presidential residence, the sexual offenses affair has not yet broken out.
It is evident that it is important for him, through the book, to try to establish in public memory both his work and achievements, and to extricate himself, even to a certain extent, from his labeling exclusively in the context of an affair that sealed his public life.
"Israel Today" contacted the victims of Katsav who came to our site to get their response, but they asked not to comment on the news.
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