Fmr. PM Olmert gets another 8 months in prison

Israel’s High Court of Justice on Wednesday rejected an appeal by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in one of his several corruption cases, sending him to prison for another eight months.

The court ruled on the Talansky case, in which Olmert was convicted of unlawfully receiving funds for private use from American Jewish businessman Morris Talansky.

Jerusalem’s Regional court convicted Olmert in May 2015 and sent him to prison for 8 months. Olmert appealed the ruling, but his appeal was turned down today.

Olmert is currently serving an 18 month prison term which he began in February for a wide-ranging case in which he was convicted of accepting bribes to promote the controversial Holy Land real-estate project in Jerusalem. He was charged for actions he took while he was mayor of Jerusalem and the country’s trade minister, before he became prime minister in 2006.

The court also rejected the State’s appeal on the Investment Affair, another one of Olmert’s corruption cases. The State said that the punishment he received, community service and a fine, was not severe enough and does not reflect later legal developments, but the court upheld the ruling in this case.

The court also upheld Olmert’s acquittal in the Rishon Tours Affair, yet another corruption case.

Today’s rulings end an eight-year long legal battle, putting an end to all of Olmert’s five corruption cases. He is set to serve jail time until November 2019.

He is the first Israeli prime minister to ever serve behind bars.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News