Police said to have found evidence PM took bribes

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Channel 10 reported Tuesday that police have evidence that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's family allegedly received $3 million in bribes from Austrian businessman Martin Schlaff, part of a complicated case involving illegal campaign contributions.

The report showed a document it said was delivered by police to a court that confiscated material from the home of the Schlaff family in Israel, saying it had evidence of bribery. Police have been investigating the case, stemming from the 1999 election, for more than two years.

Lior Chorev, a key Sharon aide, refused to comment Tuesday. "No official is saying this, a reporter is saying this," he said. "Since when do I need to respond to speculation of a reporter on Channel 10."

Officials at the Justice Ministry were not available for comment.

The report comes as Sharon is running for re-election at the head of a new party, Kadima. Sharon is far ahead in the polls, despite findings that large numbers of voters believe he and his family are corrupt."


more

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. Sounds A Lot Like Shrub....

"Sharon is far ahead in the polls, despite findings that large numbers of voters believe he and his family are corrupt."

Except that Shrub was Never ahead in the polls....legitimately.

[napi21]

2. Bribery? Hmmm. Is this part of Shrub's GLOBAL plan?

Seems like everybody, or at least all Shrub's friends are getting into this, huh?

[Wordie]

3. Omri Sharon resigns from Knesset

Omri Sharon resigns from Knesset

Prime minister's son submits resignation after being convicted of giving false testimony and violating Party Law

Attila Somfalvi

Knesset Member Omri Sharon submitted a resignation letter to Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin. Sharon has confessed to, and was convicted of violating the Party Law and giving false testimony to the State Comptroller.

Omri Sharon also declared Tuesday that he was exiting public life, and that he was not planning on running in the next round of elections. His replacement has not yet been appointed.

...Sharon was convicted of crimes committed in 1999, when his father competed in the Likud primaries. According to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, Omri Sharon managed his father's elections campaign.

...Between July 1999 and February 2000, Sharon Junior received over NIS 6 million (about USD 1,280,000) in donations from both Israel and abroad for the campaign.

(01.03.06, 12:51)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3194333,00.html

But now Sharon is saying that the road map should be abandoned, citing Palestinian corruption?

Hmmm.

[eyl]

4. Corruption in the PA

involves stealing money intended for the PA's nfrastructure and security forces, which directly affects the peace process, making it much more relevant. Otherwise, I doubt we'd give a damn.

Besides, while I don't condone Omri Sharon's violation of the law, the way the Party Law's campaign finances rules are set up, it's almost impossible not to break it (he's not the only - or most - prominent ISraeli politician to break it, just the only one to be convicted) unless you're independently wealthy.

[Wordie]

5. If Sharon had not run, who would have been elected instead?

I'm just wondering who would have been in control of the peace process if Sharon (Senior, obviously) had been out of the picture in the last Israeli election. A hypothetical question, but care to speculate?

[eyl]

6. Very good question

If Sharon had not been in the running, presumably Netanyahu would have taken over Likud. In a match between Barak and Netanyahu, it would be a toss-up between who voters found less repelling. Given that Barak's failures were closer to mind, I would guess Netanyahu would have won (probably by a slim margin, though not as slim as the one he had in 1996). I'd also speculate that the voter turnout would have been very low.

[Wordie]

7. If the alternative was Netanyahu,

even I would have chosen to keep Sharon in power!

That doesn't mean, however, that Sharon's policies are acceptable.

Any thoughts, eyl, on the recent poll that said that 49% of Israelis consider Jerusalem still negotiable? Has the electorate truly moved to the left, given what's been going on?

[eyl]

8. I haven't seen the poll

so I won't comment specifically on it.

As for as the electorate goes, the final parameters of a two-state deal have a broad consensus among the Israeli public; other than the details, the main point of disagreement are on the process to get there. In 2000, the public moved right, not in the sense of a change in their opinion of the end point, but on their opinion of the appropriate response to the situation at the time - i.e. the intifada and the failure of the Oslo process. In addition, at that time (and even more so in the next elections) the choice was basically between left and right, while the public would have probably preferred (and still does, hence the popularity of Kadima) a more middle-of-the-road approach; after Barak's screwups, Sharon was something of a default.

So to take, for example, the poll you cited, there's nothing especially remarkable about it, and if you polled this question every year, I doubt there would have been much change (though there might have been a dip at the worst points of the intifada). The question is the details. Some Israelis are willing to give everything east of the Green Line to the Palestinians. I'm not that far left - I'd insist on retaining some form of Israeli control of the Jewish holy sites & the Jewish Quarter, as well as the Jewish neighborhoods. Some would agree with part of the last sentence. etc.

[Englander]

9. "Sharon's Son Sentenced to Jail"

Tuesday February 14, 2006 1:16 PM

JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli court sentenced the eldest son of ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to nine months in jail Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to illegally raising funds for one of his father's political campaigns.

Omri Sharon pleaded guilty in November to falsifying corporate documents, perjury and violating party funding laws. Under a plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of fraud and breach of trust but demanded imprisonment on the other counts.

Omri Sharon resigned his parliamentary seat in January in anticipation of the sentencing.

The Tel Aviv District Court also sentenced Omri Sharon to nine months on probation, to start after his release from prison. Omri Sharon will not have to serve the nine months immediately because his father is in a coma since suffering a massive stroke Jan. 4.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5617812,00.html

[sabbat hunter]

10. link

the link on the original post is bad. page cannot be found errors
also the headline is deceiving (not fault of poster it seems though)

head line reads "police found evidence PM took bribes" but the article snip talks about his family. it is possible he was in hte clear on this.

[eyl]

11. Unfortunately

Haaretz links tend to age off fairly rapidly (which is why, when I want to lin to Israeli news sources, I prefer to link to YNet - JPost often has the same problem)

[Englander]

13. Anything's possible. n/t

[Englander]

12. Press abuzz over Omri sentence

BBC Monitoring

Israel's newspapers see the nine-month sentence handed down to Omri Sharon for fraud as a clear signal that political corruption will no longer be tolerated.

Some commentators express sympathy for the former MP as his downfall coincides with his father's serious illness, and one points out that many fellow politicians have been saddened by the loss of a political power broker.

However, others argue that the son of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is simply paying the price for disregarding regulations during the 1999 elections, with one commentator remarking that the Sharon family has taken corruption to "new heights".

YEDIOT AHARONOT

On this day, a big war began against corruption in the State of Israel. From now on, every politician and government functionary will think once, twice and seven times before he puts his hand into the public purse, or gives someone preference in a tender, or appoints an unworthy candidate only because he kisses his ass... Sharon together with his father ran the state as though it was a sheep pen on the Sycamore ranch: appointed, paid, bought, sold, and suddenly, 'the bastards changed the rules of the game and forgot to inform him'. It was not the Likud that invented corruption but it was the Likud and the Sharon family that raised it to new heights.

YOSSI VERTER IN HA'ARETZ

A buzz of astonishment moved through the audience: 'Nine months!' whispered the activists and mayors. There was no joy there, certainly no schadenfreude. Until yesterday, Omri Sharon was a brother and partner in deals, bargains and appointments. His downfall, even as a member of a rival party that endangers the Likud's very existence, saddened many of them. First came the collapse of the father, the man who brought them to government five years ago, and now the collapse of the son, the man who knew how to elicit favours for them from that government. The two people who ran the country have lost everything including each other, within six weeks.

SIMA KADMON IN YEDIOT AHARONOT

It seems there is no more bitter and cruel end than this: from the strongest position in the country, from the dizzying heights of glory and immense power, Omri Sharon finds himself overnight at the lowest point in his life. And all this at the least convenient time for him, under the most tragic of circumstances; as his political career is finished, the source of his power - his father - is not there for him. Only pity is left for the man who lost everything.

UZI BENZIMAN IN HA'ARETZ

Omri Sharon's sentence closed a circle: the son who volunteered to be his father's bullet-proof vest is paying the price of his sacrifice... Only disdain for written regulations and haughtiness can explain the actions of Omri Sharon, as have been revealed in the way he acted during the election campaign that finally brought him to jail.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4715486.stm

[Englander]

14. Prosecution to seek prison term for Likud MK Blumenthal

By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent

The state prosecution plans to ask the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court to give MK Naomi Blumenthal (Likud) more than nine months in prison for sponsoring the stay of several Likud activists at a Ramat Gan hotel on the eve of the December 2002 party primaries, Haaretz has learned.

Blumenthal was convicted Monday of election bribery, obstruction of justice and subornation.

>snip

Mazuz: Probe of PM Sharon in Kern affair will continue

Meanwhile, the criminal investigation of Ariel Sharon and his other son, Gilad, will continue regarding the Cyril Kern affair despite the prime minister's comatose state following a massive stroke in January, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided Wednesday after consulting with prosecution and police officials.

In the Kern affair, Ariel Sharon is suspected of receiving $3 million from abroad, which was allegedly laundered through a shell company established by Gilad and Kern, a South African businessman and a friend of the Sharon family.

Mazuz said the investigation should continue because, although it is proceeding slowly, the prosecution has gathered significant evidence in the matter. He added that there is a clear public interest in a full examination into the allegations, especially given the identity of the suspects and the amount of money involved. The Justice Ministry said the decision to hold yesterday's meeting on the Cyril Kern investigation had been made before Ariel Sharon suffered the stroke and cerebral hemorrhage that led to his hospitalization and vegetative state.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/683408.html

[Scurrilous]

15. Sharon investigation set to continue

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz rules to continue investigation involving prime minister despite his medical condition due to 'public interest'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3216741,00.html

<snip>

"The investigation in the Cyril Kern episode involving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will continue, according to a ruling by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.

The ruling came at the end of a meeting held due to the medical condition of the prime minister, who is the central figure being investigated in the case, and in light of the sentence given to his son, Omri, who was sentenced to nine months in jail.

Sources from the Ministry of Justice said that claims that the case should be closed due to Sharon's condition were not accepted by the attorney general, mainly due to the fact that the other suspect in the investigation is Gilad Sharon, the prime minister's son."

<snip>

"During the meeting, the opinion was aired that the investigation should continue until it is completed, due to public interest, and the identity of those involved, as well as the amount of money involved in the activities being investigated.

The Cyril Kern case "exploded" on the eve of the 2003 general elections. The Sharon family, according to police suspicions, received huge amounts of money from the South Africa millionaire Cyril Kern, in order to cover debts from the 1999 primaries financial scandal – the same scandal for which Omri Sharon was sentenced for nine months in prison on Tuesday."