Otto von Bismarck once said that politics is like sausage making: the more we see, the more we are revolted. Though we would like to believe that today’s politics has moved towards greater accountability, increased visibility, and improved footing for women and minorities, some things just don’t ever seem to change.

Israeli President Moshe Katsav has recently been charged with sexually assaulting ten women who worked for him. Two of those charges are rape charges, and mounting evidence suggests that Katsav’s denial is futile. This incident is one of the most serious and embarrassing sex scandals Israel has seen. It is also the first time that a high official is facing charges of sexual allegations and may be tried in court.

Described by many as dignified and quiet, President Katsav was elected in 2000 as Israel’s seventh president. The allegations against him have been mounting since this past July, but these charges either were dismissed based on insufficient information or mysteriously died down of their own accord. Katsav has continuously pleaded innocent. As the political figurehead of Israel, Katsav’s job is ceremonial rather than bureaucratic. A distinguished-looking 61-year-old man who is married with five children, Katsav’s political career had been somewhat unremarkable; so unremarkable in fact, that his nickname is “Mr. Clean.”

Israeli society is still very much patriarchal and continues to retain the deeply-rooted notions of masculinity which have been a part of the constantly warring nation. The centrality of the military to Israel’s politics only further legitimizes and glamorizes the Israeli concept of machismo: men conquering as much as and as many as they can, both geopolitically and in the bedroom. It is the seigniorial duty of men in power to have sexual relations with multiple women. Whether an incident is an affair or an assault is a secondary matter in the minds of these politicians. The important thing is not to be caught red-handed. The way this case is being defined speaks volumes to the international community about how politics and sex have defined the way we see politicians. The Israeli Women’s Network now praises the amount of visibility Katsav’s case has received, in contrast to the former days in which many accounts of sexual assault went unreported or were simply summed up as "boys will be boys." In a country where the national language has no word for "accountability," the public condemnation of President Katsav’s sexual misconduct has been praised as a step forward from the old patriarchal license associated with manhood. That is, until a very revealing sexual quip from a fellow politician revealed the grimier side that proves that politics is still very much a men’s only club.

President Katsav not only must have believed that he could get away with sexual assault, but also that he would be backed by his own men in both approval of his sexual conquest and in defense of his character if charges should arise.

Did he think he could get away with it?

Recent investigations by the Justice Ministry of Israel show that Katsav has a track record of sexual misconduct dating back to his days as Transportation Minister in 1988-1992. These previous charges of sexual harassment were dismissed on bases of lack of sufficient information. Even when the first of the current wave of allegations surfaced this past July, no charges were filed. On August 18th, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported the testimony of one young woman, "B," who stated, “I didn’t know that the minister’s behavior is the best-kept secret in the system. The pattern was to take advantage and toss aside. Everyone knew and kept silent.” Since then, more testimonies have emerged, indicating a sure pattern in which Katsav took advantage of his political rank to sexually harass many women.

Katsav’s case begs the question, if this man was "Mr. Clean," how slimy are other politicians? How many have not been held accountable? Do women need to be raped before charges are filed? Political figures, especially high ranking officials, should know that they will be scrutinized about their personal morality as well as their character. However, sex and politics remain hand in hand, but especially in Israeli politics.

Interestingly enough, many international political leaders fall silent when fellow politicians are caught red-handed. Otherwise, they make brazen statements as Russian President Vladimir Putin did. The key factor in establishing a sense of solidarity in the men’s club of politics is the cheerleaders – those who pat offending members on the back and ask, "How’d you do it?" Putin is the ultimate locker room cheerleader. The New York Times reported an incident of a faulty microphone during a conference between Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In this conversation, Putin was caught practically congratulating Katsav on his conquest, stating the following: “We did not know he could deal with 10 women. He turned out to be quite a powerful man. He raped 10 women. I never expected it from him. He surprised all of us. We all envy him.”

Not all male politicians are sexual creatures programmed to use their positions of power to take advantage of women. However, Katsav’s case starkly reveals the lack of accountability, nonchalance, and even audacity of other male politicians to accept allegations of sexual harassment and rape as acceptable. Perhaps the most deplorable part of this scandal is the fact that officials who have worked with Katsav turned a blind eye to incidents of sexual harassment.

Some male politicians—Putin being the prime example—have a mental framework that excuses the behavior of these men. Welcome to the world of male-dominated politics. Politics is the large scale "adult" version of the boys’ locker room. Mistresses and sexual misconducts are not new trends among politicians. What is new is the public reaction when they are caught, and more importantly, how the transgressing relationship is defined. Who could forget the infamous words of President Bill Clinton in his 1998 grand jury testimony on the Monica Lewinsky affair: “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is,’ is.” Clinton and his sex scandal in many ways redefined the way that the personal lives of politicians are linked to their public lives.

However, the current Israeli sexual scandal is in a different from sex scandals that have been made public in the past. President Katsav is accused not of having affairs but of raping women. Though convention used to be that charismatic men with great sex appeal (for example, President John F. Kennedy) would inevitability have affairs, male politicians fall strangely silent when their fellow brethren are accused of forcing sexual relations on women. As the world condemns President Katsav and Israel’s increasingly poor leadership skills, one would think that politicians around the world would be bemoaning the pitfalls of slimy politics and greasier politicians. But when the cameras leave and the microphones are turned off, the truth seems to come out—at least, that is the case with President Putin.

Perhaps men, including the "cleanest" politicians, never outgrow of this need to fraternize and bond over sexual conquests. There is something about the familial back-patting and winking among these men that seems to solidify their masculinity and power.

So why should we care? Amongst a generation of students who are either disillusioned, apathetic, or clueless about politics today, what does another sex scandal have to do with how we’re going to get up and go to class tomorrow? Take a look around campus, around your hometowns, around the gym, at club meetings, or on the sports fields and take notice as to how many “boys’ clubs” there are. The political trajectory of men like Katsav did not arise spontaneously. Before they become politicians, they are boys. Perhaps part of the glitter and glamour that goes with uncovered sex scandals is that we like to think politicians are above all of the nitty gritty details of trying to live life decently. The fact is that boys will always be boys who turn into men—and politicians are most often men. Sex scandals have a long history. The future invites more of them as long as the back-slapping made by powerful men such as Putin continue to go uncovered by the media.