A heated debate about press freedom is roiling in Israel after a state prosecutor was suspended for slipping an Israeli reporter a document that outlined corruption allegations against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.Liora Glatt-Berkovitch told investigators she had leaked investigative documents in the midst of Sharon’s campaign for re-election because she was frightened for her son, who is likely to be drafted into the army as the Intifada rages with no end in sight, Israeli radio reported.The documents showed that the PM was under investigation for fraud and breach of trust for accepting a $1.5 million campaign loan from a South African friend.The PM told investigators that the money came from a mortgage on his ranch. The Haaretz newspaper broke the news earlier this month, and an infuriated Sharon and his ruling Likud Party slumped in opinion polls before rebounding.Immediately, to the outrage of journalists, civil libertarians and Sharon’s opponents, Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein opened a controversial hunt for the source of the leak.‘‘Instead of urgently examining and investigating the matter of a politician’s integrity, a vital issue before elections and not afterward, somebody decided that what was important was to examine who leaked,’’ said Libi Mozel, a lawyer for Haaretz.In a Wednesday appearance before reporters, the attorney general defended his investigation. ‘‘I am not a disciple of investigations into leaks, mainly because in the past they have not shown results,’’ he said.‘‘Two reasons led me to decide upon the investigation: the obstruction and damage caused to the (Sharon) investigation by the leak, and the suspicion, which unfortunately came true, that a source from the government made a political move in this sensitive period prior to the elections,’’ Rubinstein said. (LATWP)
