Former Israeli PM Olmert gets 6 years in prison for corruption

Discussion in 'Middle East' started by Ovadia, May 13, 2014.

  1. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    This further proves that Israel does indeed hold its own accountable, regardless of religious denomination. Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav (mizrahi from iran, received 7 years for rape). Like any state Israel isn't perfect when it comes to politicians and leaders, but at least the israeli courts bring them to justice.

    TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's ex-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in jail on Tuesday for taking bribes in a massive real estate deal, a crime the judge said was akin to treason.

    The first criminal conviction of a former Israeli head of government all but ended speculation that Olmert - a centrist credited internationally with working towards a peace settlement with the Palestinians - might return to political life.

    He had denied any wrongdoing in the property deal that took place while he was in his previous post of Jerusalem mayor.

    "A public servant who takes bribes is akin to a traitor," said Judge David Rozen of the Tel Aviv District Court.

    "(Olmert) is a criminal who devoted most of his time to praise-worthy public service. (But) he also lined his own pockets," he said in passing sentence.
    View gallery
    Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Tel …
    Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Tel Aviv District Court in Israel, Tuesday, May 13 …

    Rozen ordered Olmert to report to prison on September 1, effectively giving his lawyers time to lodge what they said would be an appeal to the Supreme Court and a request that he remain free until it rules.

    Two years ago, the veteran politician was acquitted of most of the major charges brought against him in separate cases involving his links to a U.S. businessman.

    Those corruption allegations forced Olmert's resignation as prime minister in 2008, and his acquittal had appeared to position him for a possible political comeback.

    But in the new corruption trial, Rozen found Olmert guilty on March 31 of two bribery charges and said he accepted 500,000 shekels ($144,000) from developers of the Holyland apartment building complex in Jerusalem and 60,000 shekels in a separate real estate project.

    On Tuesday, the judge granted the prosecution's request for a six-year jail term.
    View gallery
    Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert leaves Tel …
    Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) leaves Tel Aviv District Court May 13, 2014. Olmert wa …

    NETANYAHU CRITIC

    Olmert has made several criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies toward the Palestinians, fuelling talk about his future political ambitions.

    But in sentencing Olmert, the judge said his crimes entailed "moral turpitude", which under Israeli law would preclude him from running for any public office for seven years after finishing his jail term.

    A lawyer by profession, Olmert began his political career in the 1970s as a legislator who targeted organized crime in Israel.

    He served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003 and as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, staying in office in a caretaker capacity until after an election that brought right-winger Netanyahu to power.

    As prime minister, Olmert waged war against militants in Lebanon in 2006 and the Gaza Strip in 2008.

    He claimed significant progress in talks with the Palestinians aimed at securing a final peace deal, offering an Israeli withdrawal from much of the occupied West Bank. But no agreement was reached.

    After a three-year break, U.S.-brokered negotiations resumed in July, but they were frozen last month by Netanyahu after President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization signed a reconciliation deal with Hamas, an Islamist group that advocates Israel's destruction.

    Palestinians blamed Netanyahu for the collapse, citing Israeli settlement-building and his failure to carry out a pledged prisoner release.

    Olmert was among 13 defendants in the Holyland case, which revolved around the construction of a hulking, hilltop housing project widely regarded as Jerusalem's worst eyesore.

    Sentences handed down on Tuesday against six of the other accused ranged from three to seven years.

    In 2010, a former Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, was convicted on rape charges. He is serving a seven-year sentence.


    http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-court-sentences-former-prime-minister-olmert-six-071633100.html
     
  2. moon

    moon Well-Known Member

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    Of course it doesn't. This is one, politically-motivated pursuit of one Israeli crook. Lieberman walked free. Sharon walked free etc, etc. Many others are still operating. Olmert, incidentally, is an alleged war criminal. We'll have him when he gets out.
     
  3. Gilos

    Gilos Well-Known Member

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    If we apply your approach to the Palestinians there would be no one left in their leadership, between war crimes and corruption charges, perhaps the International court is the way to go.
     
  4. Channe

    Channe Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Oh, so rightfully punishing one of their own justifies the illegal occupation of Semitic lands by non-Semitic Jews from Europe and North Africa ?
    The Palestinians were in the region now known as Israel from the very beginning. They are the descendants of the Israelite who just changed names and religions over the centuries. Actually, there was a thriving population of Christian and Jewish Palestinians there as well - they lived in harmony with their Muslim Palestinian brothers and sisters.
     
  5. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    Sharon withdrew from gaza. If you are referring to to what the phalangists did in lebanon, hold the lebanese phalangists acountable. Olmert is a crook, but not a war criminal. Funny how you don't mention Nasrallah as a war criminal.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Exactly.
     
  6. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    Thats way off topic, but North African Jews aren't semitic? You must be joking. All genetic tests say otherwise, and besides they even look middle eastern, as do many european jews. North African Jews cluster closest with european jews on genetic plots, so its obvious they are hebraic.
     
  7. moon

    moon Well-Known Member

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    I wonder if they'll put the war criminal, Olmert, in jail with Palestinian political prisoners ? Or is the apartheid policy employed inside prisons as well.
     
  8. trout mask replica

    trout mask replica New Member

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    That's a propaganda red-herring. Just because the jailer leaves the prison compound, doesn't mean he has handed back the keys to the prison cell. Sharon's decision, in other words, was a tactical one - a media PR stunt - intended to reach out to the mass of Israel's international critics. He fooled nobody.
     
  9. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    So you would rather have gaza still under israeli military occupation? You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.
     
  10. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    I have already posted that Israel had an arab president, its not apartheid, sorry. Again, do you consider Nasrallah a war criminal?
     
  11. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    Most Israelis feel the greatest flaw of Olmert was his failure to crush Nasrallah and Hezbollah in the 06 war with Iran via Lebanon. Israelis view him as incompetent and corrupt, and sadly both are true.
     
  12. trout mask replica

    trout mask replica New Member

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    LOL...My point was that it's still under occupation. Do you understand the difference between informal and formal?
     
  13. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    Israel withdrew and then they fired rockets at them, what do you expect them to do throw flowers?
     
  14. trout mask replica

    trout mask replica New Member

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    Hasn't sunk in yet, has it?
     
  15. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    They withdrew from gaza even though they didn't have to because of the 67 war when Egypt invaded and lost gaza. But they still nonetheless withdrew, under Sharon, giving the palestinians what they wanted. This was a good move by Sharon because frankly, governing terrorists is too much of a hassle and a drain on Israel. It also shows the world that Israel has no interest in wanting to govern these people any longer. Hamas took over gaza and fired rockets at Israel after Israel withdrew. Of course Israel responds with bombing the hell out of hamas in gaza, well entrenched in civilian areas. It is, afterall, like many have said on this forum, war. Israel always has dropped leaflets to civilian areas warning them to evacuate. Hamas does no such thing, they just fire rockets at will at Israel. Don't you get it? They don't want their own 'state', they want to keep up the blood shed until Israel is destroyed, that is infact one of their stated goals, besides wiping out the jews. You are defending an islamic terrorist group. Three cheers for you. Even after Israel withdrew Fatah and Hamas began killing and kidnapping members of the opposing group. The territories are run by religious fanatics and terrorists. They don't give a damn about a 'palestinian homeland'. And if Israel was so evil and their arab brothers were so kind, why haven't the surrounding arab states taken in the palestinians? Israel takes in jews from all over the world, they don't send suicide bombers over to the countries where jews have been persecuted.
     
  16. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    You keep repeating the same mantra: "white europeans stole the indigenous brown people's land". Sorry, but that narrative of yours is inaccurate on so many levels. Look, I don't really care anymore if people oppose Israel for what they feel to be legitimate reasons. People can be anti-zionist all they want in my eyes, but making up a false narrative doesn't help. I have showed countless times that the so called 'europeans' are really a mixture of different racial and ethnic elements, middle eastern and mediterranean mostly. Some Jews from europe are brown, some are white, just like some palestinian arabs are brown, some are white. But the fact of the matter is, most Israeli Jews are not immigrants from europe, but are native to the middle east. Israel is a middle eastern country, not some european colonialist experiment. The national language of Israel is Hebrew, sefaradi hebrew to be exact. If they were racist 'white' europeans, why on earth would they choose Hebrew, sefaradi hebrew at that, to be their national tongue? All throughout history european powers have detested indigenous peoples, their languages, their food, their customs, their music. Everything about Israel is middle eastern. If you don't like Israel, fight them on real merits, not on a concocted narrative that contradicts all history and facts. If you think they are evil, call them evil brown people. Jews are indistinguishable racially from the people who have chosen to adopt the name palestinian, thats why yahya ayyash even dressed up like a hassidic jew with side locks and all becaue the IDF can't tell the difference between palestinians and jews based on skin color or physical features alone.
     
  17. trout mask replica

    trout mask replica New Member

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    A combination of misinformation, distortions, lies and hyperbole.
     
  18. Goomba

    Goomba Well-Known Member

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    I don't know about the colour, but it was certianly European Jews who stole the land from the indigenous Arabs.
     
  19. Goomba

    Goomba Well-Known Member

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    Hyperbole is their forte.
     
  20. Borat

    Borat Banned

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    Let me try... formal occupation - boots on the ground, checkpoints, troops everywhere, curphew, marshal law, military tribunals etc... informal occupation - no such things, no boots on the ground, no checkpoints, no troops, no curphew, no trubunals, no marshal law....


    formal occupation - thousands of examples from all over the world throughout the history....informal occupation - zero examples, never happened, the term (which is neither legal, nor military nor common-sensical) was made up by by anti-Israel Islamofascists in their desparate feeble attempts to demonize Israel.


    Do I get an A? LOL
     
  21. Borat

    Borat Banned

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    Arabs never had an Arab country in Palestine, partition gave them a country, Arabs owned 45% of the land, they got 45% of the land during the partition, private arab landowners on the Israeli side of the partition retained full ownership of their land....No theft buddy. Case closed.

    Did you say hyperbole? LOL
     
  22. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    Thats not true. European Jews in some cases have lived in Palestine/Eretz Yisrael for over 500 years, I'm talking about sefaradic jews who went there after the expulsions from spain and portugal, and european jews (including sefaradim) are originally from the middle east anyway. And ashkenazi jews also come from middle eastern countries like Turkey and Egypt, so they are no more or less european than sefaradim.

    And secondly, most Israelis are not european jews, but are native to the middle east and north africa, so if you want to say anybody 'stole' the land, than it would be middle eastern jews and north african jews.

    You say you don't have a problem with color, fine. Then acknowledge that both sides have people who are white and brown skinned, both the palestinians and the jews. Even a lot of north african and iraqi jews are white skinned just like many many palestinians are white too.
     
  23. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    No not at all. You need to stop defending Hamas. If you think the palestinians are being mistreated by the israelis then just say so. But supporting Hamas will not help your cause, it will only hurt it.
     
  24. Ovadia

    Ovadia New Member

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    Yeah, take a look at your own side's posts. Neo zionist fascist neo con neo zionist neo zionist ethnic cleanising hasbara neo-zionist HASBARA!

    :icon_picknose:
     
  25. Goomba

    Goomba Well-Known Member

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    And how many cases would that be? Very few, because the Ottomans generally did not allow Sephardic Jews to settle in Palestine:

    http://davidwacks.uoregon.edu/settlement/01/31/settlement/

    47% percent of Israelis are European.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel#Ethnic_and_religious_groups


    These Western Jews brought with them a culture very alien to the one that they were attempting to steal the land from. Liberalism, Communism, Democracy. They were very unlike the Sephardic Jews, who were practically Arab in terms of culture:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardi_Jews


    The Arabic-speaking Sephardi Jews easily integrated into the societies that spoke the language.
     

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