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Israel’s top court sends ex-PM Olmert to 18 months in prison Israel’s Olmert to become first leader to go to prison
(about 7 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday reduced former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s prison sentence for a sweeping bribery scandal from six years to 18 months, handing him a moral victory even as he prepares to become the first former Israeli head of government to be imprisoned. JERUSALEM — Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who claimed to be on the cusp of a historic peace deal with the Palestinians just a few years ago, now is set to become the first Israeli leader to go to prison after the Supreme Court upheld a bribery conviction against him Tuesday.
In its ruling, the court overturned the main bribery charge against Olmert but upheld a lesser charge. The 70-year-old ex-premier was ordered to begin serving his sentence on Feb. 15. The decision capped a seven-year legal saga that severely undermined the last serious round of peace talks and propelled hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power.
Olmert was convicted in March 2014 and sentenced to six years in a wide-ranging case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a controversial real-estate project in Jerusalem. The charges pertained to a period when he was mayor of Jerusalem and the country’s trade minister, years before he became prime minister in 2006. In some ways, Tuesday’s decision was a success for Olmert. The five-judge panel dismissed the most serious bribery charge against him and reduced his original prison sentence from six years down to 18 months. He is set to report to prison on Feb. 15.
Olmert has denied any wrongdoing and was allowed to stay out of prison until the verdict on his appeal was delivered. “A stone has been lifted from my heart,” a visibly relieved Olmert told reporters. “I said in the past, I was never offered and I never took a bribe. And I say that again today.”
After Tuesday’s decision, Olmert said he was “satisfied” about his partial exoneration. Clearly relieved, Olmert said it was still a “hard day” but that he accepted the Supreme Court’s ruling. But it nonetheless served as a reminder of what might have been had he managed to complete his term before the scandal forced him to step down in early 2009.
“A stone has been lifted from my heart,” he said. “I said in the past, I was never offered and I never took a bribe. And I say that again today.” Olmert was a longtime fixture in Israel’s hawkish right wing when he began taking a dramatically more conciliatory line toward the Palestinians as deputy prime minister a decade ago. He played a leading role in Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
The ruling marks a dramatic climax of the lengthy legal saga of a man who only years earlier led the country and hoped to bring about a historic peace agreement with the Palestinians. He became prime minister in January 2006 after then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke — and subsequently led their newly formed Kadima Party to victory in parliamentary elections on a platform of pushing further peace moves with the Palestinians.
Olmert was forced to resign in early 2009 amid the corruption allegations. His departure cleared the way for the election of hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu, and subsequent Mideast peace efforts have failed. In a recent interview broadcast on Channel 10 TV, Olmert said his political transformation began while he was mayor of Jerusalem during the 1990s and early 2000s. He said the wide gaps between the city’s Jewish and Arab neighborhoods led him to conclude that the continued occupation of millions of Palestinians was unsustainable.
Olmert was a longtime fixture in Israel’s hard-line right wing when he began taking a more moderate line toward the Palestinians as deputy prime minister a decade ago. He played a leading role in Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. A gifted orator, Olmert broke a series of taboos while in office — warning that Israel could become like apartheid South Africa if it continued its occupation of the Palestinians and expressing readiness to relinquish control of parts of the holy city of Jerusalem under a peace deal.
He became prime minister in January 2006 after then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke. He subsequently led their newly formed Kadima Party to victory in parliamentary elections on a platform of pushing further peace moves with the Palestinians. He led his government to the Annapolis peace conference in November 2007 — launching more than a year of ambitious, but unsuccessful U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians. Olmert enjoyed a warm relationship with then-President George W. Bush.
A gifted orator, Olmert crossed a series of taboos while in office — warning that Israel could become like apartheid South Africa if it continued its occupation of the Palestinians and expressing readiness to relinquish control of parts of the holy city of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal. Olmert has said he made unprecedented concessions to the Palestinians during those talks — including a near-total withdrawal from the West Bank and an offer to place Jerusalem’s Old City under international control — and was close to reaching an agreement at the time of his resignation.
He led his government to the Annapolis peace conference in November 2007 — launching more than a year of ambitious, but unsuccessful peace talks with the Palestinians. Olmert enjoyed a warm relationship with then President George W. Bush. In last month’s TV interview, Olmert described presenting his offer to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sept. 16, 2008. At the time, Olmert was enveloped in scandal and had already announced his intention to step down, but elections were still some five months away.
Olmert has said he made unprecedented concessions to the Palestinians during those talks — including a near-total withdrawal from the West Bank and an offer to share control of Jerusalem — and was close to reaching an agreement at the time of his resignation. “I told him, ‘Remember my words, it will be 50 years before there will be another Israeli prime minister that will offer you what I am offering you now. Don’t miss this opportunity,’” Olmert said.
The Palestinians have said his assessment was overly optimistic. In the same documentary, Abbas confirmed Olmert’s offer. But he said Israeli leader pressured him to sign the deal without allowing him to study a proposed map, and that the offer did not adequately resolve the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees.
In a recent documentary, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Olmert had made a serious offer, but pressured him to sign the deal without allowing him to look at a map for the border Olmert proposed. Abbas said that at the time, he also expressed doubts over Olmert’s ability to carry out a deal because of his legal problems and impending resignation. Still, he described the talks as serious and estimated a deal could have been wrapped up in “four to five months” had Olmert not been engulfed in his legal problems.
Despite his ambitious agenda, Olmert’s term was clouded by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier who was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid and an inconclusive war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Both occurred shortly after he took office. Olmert also launched a military invasion of the Gaza Strip in late 2008 that drew heavy international criticism. Olmert’s departure cleared the way for the election of Netanyahu, and subsequent Mideast peace efforts have failed to get off the ground. Netanyahu rejects Olmert’s territorial concessions, and with gaps so wide, the Palestinians say there is no point in resuming talks.
But it was corruption allegations, which had dogged him throughout his career, which ultimately proved his undoing. He was forced to announce his resignation in late 2008 and left office early the following year. Despite his ambitious agenda, Olmert’s term was clouded by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier who was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid and an inconclusive war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Both occurred in 2006 shortly after he took office. Olmert also reportedly destroyed a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor — and his government launched a military invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in late 2008 that drew heavy international criticism.
Tuesday’s ruling focused on the “Holyland” real-estate project — a sprawling high-rise apartment complex built on a Jerusalem hilltop that local residents love to hate because of its imposing appearance. Local zoning laws were changed to make way for the project. Olmert was convicted in March 2014 and sentenced to six years in a wide-ranging case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a controversial real-estate project in Jerusalem. The charges pertained to a period when he was mayor of Jerusalem and the country’s trade minister, years before he became prime minister.
In their 948-page ruling, five Supreme Court judges reversed Olmert’s previous conviction for accepting a 500,000 shekel ($130,000) bribe to help promote the project. Olmert denied any wrongdoing and was allowed to stay out of prison pending the appeal.
It marked a stark departure from the harsh 2014 Tel Aviv District Court ruling, where Judge David Rozen accused Olmert of undermining the public’s trust and called him a “traitor.” The money was earmarked for Olmert’s cash-strapped younger brother, Yossi, but four of the five justices ruled it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Olmert was involved or aware of the transaction. In their 948-page ruling, five Supreme Court judges reversed Olmert’s previous conviction for accepting a 500,000 shekel ($130,000) bribe to help promote the project. The money was earmarked for Olmert’s debt-strapped younger brother, but four of the five justices ruled it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Olmert was involved.
However, the top court did maintain a lesser conviction against Olmert of taking a 60,000 shekel ($15,000) bribe. Barring any unforeseen intervention, Olmert is to report to prison on Feb. 15. But the top court upheld a lesser conviction against Olmert of taking a 60,000 shekel ($15,000) bribe.
The ruling also all but ended any hopes that Olmert, who was once seen as the most formidable opponent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, might return to politics. The ruling essentially ends any hopes of a political comeback. Tuesday’s conviction included a ruling of “moral turpitude,” barring him from politics for an additional seven years after leaving prison.
Tuesday’s conviction included a ruling of “moral turpitude,” meaning that Olmert would be barred from politics for an additional seven years after serving his time. Yohanan Plesner, a former legislator with Olmert’s Kadima party, said Olmert’s legacy was ability to form a “relationship of trust” with the Palestinians at a time when the Israeli public, disillusioned by the second Palestinian uprising a few years earlier, was skeptical.
In a separate case, Olmert was sentenced earlier this year to eight months in prison for unlawfully accepting money from a U.S. supporter. He is also appealing that sentence. If the appeal is rejected, that prison time could be added to Tuesday’s verdict. Plesner, who now heads the nonpartisan Israel Democracy Institute, said Olmert’s efforts ultimately were stymied by his legal troubles before they could bear fruit.
Aside from the embarrassment of having a former prime minister charged and put on trial for bribery, the case was seen in Israel as a barometer of the country’s fiercely independent legal system and a point of pride in proving that no one is above the law. “There was still a lot of work to be done,” he said. “And since (the Palestinians) knew he was leaving, there was no incentive to deliver their compromises to Olmert at that point.”
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Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.