By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — I love reading stories about real heroes in the world. No, they may not have great physiques like Batman or Superman; nor are they bulletproof, nor do they possess super-human powers or strength. In fact they look like ordinary people.
A Hassidic Rebbe once said, “Why are the Jewish people compared to the stars in heaven? It is to teach us that which looks like a speck of light from our perspective is very great from Heaven’s perspective.” Who is to say how great a person truly is? “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the outer appearance but the LORD looks into the heart” (1 Sam 16:7).
In this short article we shall look at two separate stories—separated by thousands of miles of distance. Yet, each individual who is involved in these narratives reflect the kind of political corruption that has infested governments.
Like many countries, Pakistan does not have the best reputation when it comes to moral integrity. The son of the Supreme Court chief justice and the son of the ousted Prime Minister are embroiled in some serious bribery and financial misappropriation charges. While Osama bin Ladin was alive, Pakistani leaders played both the Americans and Al Qaeda against each other and always tried to keep bin Ladin protected.
Although President Obama regards President Asif Ali Zardari a “friend” and loyal “ally,” one can only say, “With friends like that, who needs enemies?”
However, one man has single-handedly taken on the political corruption—in fact you could call him, “Pakistan’s Elliot Ness,” and his name is Zafar Ahmed Qureshi. This man has recovered billions of rupees for Pakistan’s treasury, organized drug busts, recovered a stash of gold that is worth millions, when all he was looking for were contraband weapons that were hidden along the Indian border!
Pretty impressive.
After busting some high profiled politicians, the President’s confidant asked Qureshi to stop endangering political alliances. They gave him four choices: he could take a long leave of absence, leave the country and return only after retirement, withdraw from his criminal investigation of the jailed defendants, or simply free the people he incarcerated.
Guess what he finally did? He stood his ground—but got suspended by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Corruption is not only a Pakistani problem. It is a problem wherever you have people in positions of power and influence.
The recent “Operation Fast and Furious” scandal is shocking the country. This program was initiated by our Justice Department, which sold over 2000 firearms to members of the Mexican drug cartels, and then intentionally lost track of the weapons. In December 2010, two of these guns were found at a murder scene when they discovered that the U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry had been killed with these weapons.
There was zero-accountability. No apology was ever given by Holder to the family. Worse still, hundreds of innocent Mexicans have been killed with these weapons. Mr. Holder still has not held anyone accountable, least of all himself. On several occasions his sworn testimony has repeatedly been contradicted by internal memos, and his administration has misinformed Congress. There’s a word for that, it’s called perjury. And then for the grand finale, the President evokes “Executive Privilege.”
Watergate was serious, but nobody died. This case is different: hundreds of people are dead because of this terrible decision.
Think for a minute. Forget get about your political party affiliation. Does any of this sound Kosher to you?
Last week, the country witnessed Holder’s willingness to put politics before justice, when he refused to designate an independent special prosecutor to look into the unprecedented leaks of possibly classified operations. As Democratic and Republican Senators have made clear in a resounding voice, these leaks endanger our national security and the lives of the men and women sworn to protect it.
The entire cover-up is reminiscent of Nixonian politics. The country deserves to have an Attorney General who is governed by ethics and not politics. We need a person who will uphold basic standards of honesty, transparency, and accountability. We deserve an Attorney General whose primary loyalty belongs exclusively to the justice system and doesn’t serve the political whims of the White House. We deserve an Attorney General who will treat Congress and the public with respect, and obey the rule of law.
We need a mentsch who will serve as the Attorney General—and that person is not Eric Holder. Maybe we can persuade Zafar Ahmed Qureshi to take the job, I think he would make one amazing Attorney General.
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Rabbi Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Sholom in Chula Vista. He may be contacted at michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com