United Nations has awarded tens of millions in 'aid' contracts to Assad cronies
The United Nations has awarded tens of millions of dollars in aid contracts to people associated with the Assad regime, including the dictator's wife Asma, and close Assad associate Rami Makhlouf. According to Britain's Guardian, many of the persons who received the contracts are subject to United States and European Union sanctions.
The UN says it can only work with a small number of partners approved
by President Assad and that it does all it can to ensure the money is
spent properly.
“Of paramount importance is reaching as many vulnerable civilians as possible,” a spokesman said. “Our choices in Syria
are limited by a highly insecure context where finding companies and
partners who operate in besieged and hard to reach areas is extremely
challenging.”
However, critics believe the UN mission is in danger of being compromised.
They believe aid is being prioritised in government-held areas and
argue UN money is effectively helping to prop up a regime responsible
for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of its own citizens.
UN insiders admit the relief mission in Syria is the most expensive, challenging and complex it has ever undertaken.
But the contentious decisions it has had to make are now exposed for
the first time by a Guardian analysis of hundreds of contracts it has
awarded since the operation began in 2011.
This shows that:
The UN has paid more than $13m to the Syrian government to boost
farming and agriculture, yet the EU has banned trade with the
departments in question for fear of how the money will be used.
The UN has paid at least $4m to the state-owned fuel supplier, which is also on the EU sanctions list.
The World Health Organisation has spent more than $5m to support
Syria’s national blood bank – but this is being controlled by Assad’s
defence department. Documents seen by the Guardian show funds spent on
blood supplies came directly from donors who have economic sanctions
against the Syrian government, including the UK. They also show the WHO
had “concrete concerns” about whether blood supplies would reach those
in need, or be directed to the military first.
Two UN agencies have partnered with the Syria Trust charity, an
organisation started and chaired by President Assad’s wife, Asma,
spending a total of $8.5m. The first lady is under both US and EU
sanctions.
Unicef has paid $267,933 to the Al-Bustan Association, owned and run
by Rami Makhlouf, Syria’s wealthiest man. He is a friend and cousin of
Assad, and his charity has been linked to several pro-regime militia
groups.
Contracts have been awarded across UN departments with companies run by or linked to individuals under sanctions.
These contracts show how the United Nations operation has quietly secured deals with individuals and companies that have been designated off-limits by Europe and the US.
On top of this, analysis of the United Nations own procurement
documents show its agencies have done business with at least another 258
Syrian companies, paying sums as high as $54m and £36m, down to
$30,000. Many are likely to have links to Assad, or those close to him.
If the Obama administration and the Europeans had expended even half the effort on Syria that they have expended on the 'poor' 'oppressed' 'Palestinians' over the past five years, it is hard to believe that the situation would be this bad. But they don't. Unfortunately for Syrians, "No Jews = No News" and the news that Jews have actually been saving Syrians almost isn't being reported anywhere outside of Israel.
A whistle blower who is living in the United States under FBI protection believes that FIFA President Sepp Blatter will attempt to save his position by stripping Qatar of the 2022 World Cup.
Phaedra Almajid says the weight of evidence of wrongdoing from her and others will be so overwhelming that FIFA will be left with no option but to find another host.
Almajid has been under protective custody of the FBI and she fears her safety will be compromised further if the tournament is taken away from the tiny oil-rich state, who shocked the world by winning the right to stage the 2022 event in 2010.
While hoping justice is done, Almajid admits that the prospect ‘scares me a lot’ because some ‘extremists’ may feel she played a role in that happening.
She said: ‘There are people who are p***** off with me [for speaking out], and what really p***** them off is that I’m a female, Muslim whistleblower.’
Another consequence of recent events, Almajid believes, is that outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter may try to take 2022 from Qatar as part of a radical reform agenda designed to win him praise ‘and save his skin.’
...
Almajid, an Arab-American now based in the US, worked for Qatar’s 2022 bid team until early 2010.
She told the Mail on Sunday last year that a subsequent retraction of her allegations was coerced. In fear of her safety for herself and her family - she has two children, one of them severely disabled - she was taken into the protective custody of the FBI.
The FBI are leading the investigation which has led to 14 arrests, with even more expected. ‘The FBI have everything,’ she said.
Almajid also co-operated fully with a FIFA-funded probe led by Michael Garcia, a former US attorney for New York.
"There is no leader in Israel, except the people here, who knows and
can turn Israel into a Jewish state - one of real freedom, a state which
is not 'all of its citizens and its Zoabis," he began, referring to
virulent anti-Israel MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad). "There is no leader in
Israel, except the people here, who knows and is able to cope with a
rock attack in Tiva, with a knife in Jerusalem, with a rocket from Gaza
and the Iranian nuclear program."
"There is no leader in Israel, except the people here, who knows and
can lower the prices of housing and food," he continued. "There is no
political leader in Israel, except the people here, who is not willing
to be eaten up by the 'peace factory' here, subject to Oslo [Accords]
consciousness and language, there is no leader who talks about: one
country, one nation, one Israel."
"There is no leader in Israel, except the people here, a democratic
leader really, who knows and is able to build a true state based on
freedom, personal and political freedom that comes from Judaism
instead of in place [of Judaism], of identity, a freedom that comes
from understanding that we are all children of our Father our King,
slaves to the Creator alone," he said.
"I was hoping that Likud could bring those of us who are
straightforward to the prime minister's seat, but little by little I
understood that we could not," he added. "The more the creation of a new
life, a new birth is required here, a time of growing her own and
hopefully soon - a faith-based leadership, leadership of freedom to the
people of Israel."
As many of you know, I'm a big Feiglin fan. I'm not really surprised he's doing this - Netanyahu left him no choice after the primary results. I just hope his party wins enough seats in the Knesset to have a significant impact.
Feiglin's full speech from tonight's meeting may be found here.
How Hamas diverted internationally-supplied concrete to build terror tunnels
Fox News has obtained a copy of an internal report by a United Nations audit committee that reveals how Hamas diverted internationally supplied moneys and concrete for the construction of terror tunnels and the purchase of weapons. And guess who is right in the thick of things.... UNRWA.
While controversy continues to swirl around the huge Hamas tunnel
network in Gaza, an internal United Nations audit report reveals that a
U.N. Development Program office that funds and monitors spending on
construction in the territory allowed at least five non-staff contract
employees to handle “core” procurement processes that only staffers are
supposed to handle, including those for ordering up “significant” civil
construction activities.
Moreover, the report says, of the UNDP office: “the Office was not
monitoring and recording actual work” performed by these individuals and
other contract employees handling “core” functions, and the terms of
reference for their employment “did not include specifications for
services provided to particular projects” — in other words, were
relatively undefined.
At the same time, the office’s internal financial tracking system — a
UNDP-wide system known as Atlas — was improperly recording at least $8
million worth of civil construction spending at far less than its full
value, a practice that UNDP auditors noted could keep the activity under
the radar of higher-level U.N. officials who must approve purchase
orders above defined cost threshold levels.
Moreover, the Palestinian program office was not properly keeping
track of expenditures or receipts in the financial system. The auditors
noted that in a sampling of 41 payment vouchers, 12 purchase orders did
not have receipts recorded in the system. “This practice,” the report
noted, “increases the risk of paying for goods that are not delivered.”
The same office of the anti-poverty United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) failed to use an electronic funds transfer system with
local banks that would have allowed the UNDP program to “be notified
electronically when any bank transactions take place,” including, as
the report delicately puts it, “transactions not made by UNDP.”
Taken together, the findings in the carefully manicured audit report —
which was vetted by UNDP management at the affected office — point to a
possible black hole in the supervision of civil construction, and
perhaps other programs in Gaza and the other Palestinian territories for
at least a year before the current explosion of terrorism.
...
The main purpose of the UNDP program, based in Jerusalem and like all
U.N. activities operating under diplomatic immunity from any national
authorities, was to provide funding and support for what the document
chastely calls “another U.N. entity” that coordinates the world
organization’s activity in Gaza.
That “entity” is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or
UNRWA, which has been accused for years — and especially during the last
major Israeli military response to Palestinian terrorist attacks from
Gaza in 2009 — of allowing Hamas to divert humanitarian supplies to its
own military purposes. UNWRA has some 13,000 employees in Gaza, the
overwhelming majority of them local Palestinians.
The watchdog report on the UNDP office, formally known as the UNDP
Program of Assistance to the Palestinian People, covered all of 2013 —
the period immediately leading up to the current explosion of Hamas
rocket attacks and Israeli’s now-suspended counter-incursion.
The document, produced by UNDP’s Office of Audit and Investigations,
does not offer anything like full insight into the irregular pattern of
activities surrounding the Palestinian program, although it clearly
indicates that there are more areas of concern.
Among other things, it notes that 43 people beyond the five
specifically mentioned as “examples’ are also “incorrectly” providing
“core functions” while operating on service contracts, without
specifying their activities.
The entire tally of non-staffers performing “core” functions
represents about one-quarter of the 187 service contract holders listed
as part of the program, which spent $90 million in 2013.
Read the whole thing. Maybe this could be leveraged to dismantle UNRWA? We can only hope.
Hamas blames Israel for death of its former spokesman
In an earlier post, I reported that Hamas had executed its former spokesman, Ayman Taha. Khaled Abu Toameh reports that Hamas is now trying to blame Taha's death on Israel.
Shortly after Palestinian journalists reported the execution, Hamas published a brief statement "mourning" the death of Taha, who it claimed was "martyred" during an Israeli air strike on an apartment in Gaza City.
Hamas had no explanation, of course, as to why the man had been hit
in the head and chest by bullets that were apparently fired from close
range.
The attempt to blame Israel is seen in the context of the movement's
effort to prevent retaliatory attacks by Taha's powerful clan. The
family had previously denounced the arrest of its son and called for his
immediate release.
Taha is not the only Palestinian to be killed by Hamas in the past
few weeks. According to various reports, Hamas has executed several
Palestinians on suspicion of "collaboration" with Israel since the
beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Yet Hamas has not officially admitted that it carried out these
executions, as is the case with its former top representative, Ayman
Taha. Hamas is also unlikely to ever admit that its men killed any
Palestinian during the past few weeks. Instead, Hamas will add the
people it has murdered to the list of "casualties of Israeli
aggression."
And the Western lapdog media will lap it all up, calling all those deaths 'civilian.'
By the way, Taha was accused of spying on Hamas for another country. No, not Israel. Read the whole thing.
Meshaal brags to Gazans that his hotel costs more than a hospital and three tunnels
No, even Khaled Meshaal is not dumb enough to brag to Gazans about how much his hotel costs. Or is he?
In a video obtained by The Jerusalem Post, a speech by
Mashaal is distorted to bring Gazans a message that the Hamas leader is a
corrupt politician who lives a lavish life abroad, while benifitting
from the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
"In the name of Allah, most gracious, most compassionate," says
Mashaal in the mock video. "I want to start by thanking the excellent
staff of the kitchen at my hotel."
Later, the leader speaks about hearing about what is happening in
Gaza and adds: "The hotel cost me the same as the price of a hospital
and three tunnels in Gaza."
Messages of this sort, according to reports on Palestinian social
media, are an almost daily occurrence. Israel gains control of TV
stations and broadcasts numerous videos mocking Hamas leaders.
Hamas
has also attempted to psychologically affect the citizens of Israel
through hacking during the more than two weeks of hostilities.
The
organization has released a series of threatening videos on Youtube,
mocking the Israeli government in Hebrew and touting the strength of
Hamas. Pro-Hamas hackers succeeded last week in interrupting a live
Channel 10 news broadcast with their own propaganda.
And of course, let's go to the videotape... with English subtitles.
And you thought no one was more arrogant than President Hussein Obama.... Meet Ehud K. Olmert.
Tel Aviv District Court Judge David Rozen on Sunday rejected former
prime minister Ehud Olmert's request to leave the country on business
for four days on the grounds that he has been convicted and sentenced to jail time for bribery.
Olmert requested to travel from June 9-13 in order to facilitate various business deals including foreign investment in Israel.
Olmert's former chief-architect in Jerusalem, Uri Shitrit, made a similar request which was denied in the same opinion.
The
court said that the only exception for leaving the country was special
medical needs, which did not apply to either of the convicted men.
Olmert
was sentenced to six years in prison for his conviction on two counts
of bribery in the Holyland real estate affair last month.
The judge delayed the arrest and imprisonment of all of the Holyland defendants until September 1.
In Israel, there is something known as a tzav ikuv yetzia min ha'aretz (an order to stop you from leaving the country). In most cases, you don't get one because of a criminal conviction. You get them because you owe money. Until a couple of years ago, it was difficult to find out whether you had one against you without going to the airport and trying to leave the country. Now, there's a number you can call during business hours....
I have a friend who came to Israel for a weekend 13 years ago and still cannot leave the country because of such an order - he allegedly owes money. I had another friend - who R"L passed away two years ago - who called me from the airport at 3:00 am and asked if I could convince the border guards to let him on the 1:00 am flight to New York (which had already been held for two hours) because he had an appointment in New York at 11:00 am that day for chemotherapy. He owed property tax (arnona) on an apartment he had vacated years before. I could not get him out, and eventually - at 4:00 or 5:00 am - someone who lived closer to the airport than I do brought him the money to pay the arnona (for the second time) by which time the 1:00 am flight had left and he had to wait for the first flight of the morning and miss his appointment.
But convicted felon Ehud Olmert is allowed to leave for medical reasons and has the gall to ask permission to leave for a purported 'business trip.' And you wonder why this country is so corrupt?
A new low: Former Prime Minister Olmert gets six years for bribery
In a country where a former President is sitting in jail for sexual assault, you might have thought we could not go much lower. Well, we just might have. As many of you probably know, former Prime Minister Ehud Korruption Olmert has been sentenced to six years in jail for accepting bribes in connection with the construction of the Holyland colossus on the southern edge of Jerusalem.
Olmert going jail barely scratches the surface of the rot and corruption among Israel's top officials. I want to show you two small points in the article linked above rather than going through the whole thing (which I am too busy to do anyway - those of us Israelis who are honest work hard for a living), in order to give you some idea why Israel's ruling classes are so corrupt.
Experts had been estimating that Olmert would likely get at least a
few years in prison, and that his being prime minister would not get him
special treatment.
Still, on a separate prior and less serious
conviction in his July 2012 Jerusalem corruption trial, Olmert received
only community service with the court noting his service to the state as
one of the reasons for leniency.
Usually, elites like Olmert get off the hook no matter what they do. It's only when the corruption hits the judges over the head that they feel they must act.
The judge added that Olmert was an extremely talented man that made a
great contribution to the state through his public service. Rozen said,
however, that his hands were tied by law to certain set punishment
guidelines without discretion.
Rozen said that Olmert was guilty
of "moral turpitude," meaning that he would not be allowed to reenter
politics for at least seven years.
Why do the judge's hands have to be tied in order for him to do the right thing?
And notice that they're already counting the years, months and days until Olmert can return to politics. For those of you who lived through the '70's in the US, can you imagine the voters ever electing Richard Nixon to another office? Spiro Agnew? In most of the western world, when you're convicted of corruption or bribery, your career in politics is over. Not in Israel. And until that changes, we Israelis will continue to be victimized by corrupt politicians like Olmert.
Finally: Ehud Korruption Olmert convicted on bribery charges
It's been a long time coming, but it's finally happened. Former Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert has been convicted of bribery in what's known as the Holyland case. The Holyland is the eyesore that overlooks the Malcha mall on the right side of the Begin expressway in southern Jerusalem. Eyesore because what was supposed to be a 25,000 square foot project became a colossal 311,000 square foot project due to bribes paid to Olmert and others.
But first, let's go to the videotape.
Completing nearly two years of what may be looked back on as the
trial of the century, the Tel Aviv District Court on Monday convicted
former prime minister Ehud Olmert on charges of bribery.
With
a thundering ruling that will shake the country, Judge David Rozen
also convicted former Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, former Bank
Hapoalim Chairman Dan Dankner, Olmert's former chief-of-staff Shula
Zaken and, in total, 10 out of 13 individual defendants (3 defendants
are corporations.)
Judge David Rozen said that Olmert lied in court. The court cited
Zaken's total devotion to Olmert as proof that he had to know about all
of the bribes she was receiving from main state witness Shmuel Duchner.
Rozen said that Zaken even got convicted in the prior Jerusalem corruption trial rather than testify against Olmert.
On
the NIS 500,000 in bribes given to Yossi Olmert, Ehud's brother, the
court completely rejected Ehud's story that he did not know that Duchner
gave the money to Yossi. The court added that there was no reason for
Duchner to give Yossi money except at Ehud's request since they did not
know each other.
Rozen said that Duchner was always careful to
make sure sponsors like Olmert knew he had given bribes to secure their
help with the Holyland project.
Olmert was convicted of some of
the most serious bribery charges including large sums. Absent Rozen
being very sympathetic since Olmert is a former prime minister (and
Olmert did get this sympathy at his Jerusalem trial) he could be looking at serious jail time. Sentencing arguments in the case were scheduled to begin on April 28.
The judge completely rejected Zaken's story that money she got from Duchner was not bribes, but part of a romance between them.
Rozen
called Zaken a "central mover" in the bribery scheme, telling the
state that he is not convinced he wants to accept an easy sentence for
plea bargain. He added that in light of his conviction of Olmert
already, it is unclear that her evidence is a "revolution."
...
Though the state originally rejected Zaken's new evidence as
insufficient, at the start of last week, Zaken produced to the state a
series of cassette tapes which the state said provide a "serious
suspicion" of obstruction of justice and witness tampering against
Olmert.
By moving forward with the verdict, the plea bargain
reportedly could require Zaken to cooperate with the state in filing a
new indictment against Olmert for the obstruction of justice charges –
though the state may call it a day having gotten a conviction.
In
the Holyland trial, Olmert was accused of accepting over NIS 1.5
million in bribes (out of around NIS 9 million given to public officials
in total), either directly or through Zaken or his brother Yossi to
smooth over various legal and zoning obstacles. The allegations relate
to the 1993-mid 2000s period while Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem and
Minister of Infrastructure, Trade and Industry.
The prosecution's closing arguments already significantly backed off of the NIS 1.5 million number to around NIS 800,000.
...
With a conviction, Olmert's career could be over and he could even face jail time.
Judge Rosen announced the acquittal of real estate men Shimon Galon
and Amnon Safran, as well as former Israel Lands Authority head Yaakov
Efrati. According to law, acquittals need to be announced at the start
of the decision.
Other defendants include former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupoliansky,
former city engineer Uri Sheetrit, and businessman Hillel Cherney. All
in all, there were 13 people and three companies on the defendants'
bench in this case.
The judge noted that the testimony of state witness Dachner was
detailed but also contradictory. He preferred Dachner's testimony to
Olmert's, however, and it was the key to the conviction. Olmert "tried
to besmirch the witness, even at the price of lying to the court," the
judge added.
"Hundreds of thousands of shekels were transferred to public
leaders,” wrote Rosen. “The dirty money was given in order to advance
the business of the people who gave the money. Every defendant has his
own corruption case. Dachner came up with the idea and carried out the
bribery deals. In the court, he answered the lawyers' questions as best
he could.”
Dachner gave hundreds of thousands of shekels in bribes to Zaken, the
judge determined. He also "bought Olmert's services," Judge Rosen
wrote. Dachner gave Olmert's brother, Yossi, 500,000 shekels, as a favor
to Ehud Olmert, the judge found. Yossi Olmert had been a successful and
famous academician before he was plunged into debt and left Israel for
the United States.
Rosen also had some devastating comments on Israel's political system.
"We're talking about corrupt and filthy practices," Judge David Rosen saidwhile reading out the verdict, his remarks playing out across all Israelimedia.
He also spoke of a "corrupt political system which has decayed over theyears... and in which hundreds of thousands of shekels were transferred toelected officials".
Rosen also said the former premier had lied to the court in a bid to"blacken the name" of the state's witness.
Olmert reportedly sat expressionless throughout the verdict.
The reading of the verdict is ongoing and has been followed live by
Israeli media since it began, with reporters flitting in and out of the
courtroom to report on the developments.
The sides are expected to file appeals to the Supreme Court.
If Olmert's career is over, the system will by definition be cleaner.
I need to get you in the mood for this one, so let's go to the videotape.
The song is from the 1967 Walt Disney movie The Happiest Millionaire. You won't believe this but 'impoverished' Gaza has lots of happy millionaires. 1,700 of them.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction
went on the offensive Thursday, claiming that Hamas in Gaza is corrupt
and "doesn't represent the Palestinian people."
Fatah Spokesman Ahmad Assaf told Erem News that Hamas's
attempts to influence Egypt's inner workings are "unacceptable," noting
the ties between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, both of which have been outlawed in the Nile state for their part in terror attacks.
Egypt has done more for the Palestinian Arabs than Hamas or the
Muslim Brotherhood, who merely spew empty slogans and sell religion
according to Assaf. Hamas on Tuesday criticized Egypt for closing the Gaza border with Sinai, calling it a "crime against humanity." The siege has led to power outages.
The Fatah spokesman claimed that while Gaza is one of the poorest
places in the world, there are 1,700 millionaires among Hamas members,
hinting that the terror group imposes steep taxes on its citizens for
goods entering from Egypt and Israel, and that this money finds its way
into Hamas officials' pockets.
Assaf finished by praising Abbas, the "Palestinian President," for
standing behind his principles and treating any concessions in peace
talks as red lines. The spokesman stated Hamas had returned the
situation to the way it was before 1967, a somewhat confusing remark,
given that it was in 1967 that the Jordanian occupation of Judea and
Samaria came to an end, in the Six Day War.
Two things happened on Monday, June 24, that proved, finally, that Z STREET – and others similarly situated – was correct.
First, the IRS released its 83 page document, “Charting a Path Forward at the IRS,”
in response to the Treasury Department’s Inspector General who found
that the IRS had engaged in inappropriate targeting of certain groups
which had sought tax exempt status from the IRS.
...
The second revelation was one made by Bloomberg News.
That media agency obtained IRS documents revealing that, in addition to
the terms Tea Party and 9/12, other terms were used in flagging
organizations seeking tax exempt status for additional scrutiny. While
the headline of the article, and what was the object of most media
attention, was that terms that suggested not just conservative groups,
but also liberal or progressive groups were given the IRS evil eye –
words such as “occupy” and “progressive” were allegedly triggers, as was
the word “Israel.”
But far down in a long article the Bloomberg reporter explains that, “Disputed Territories” was considered problematic. To wit:
‘Disputed Territories”
The November, 2010 [BOLO - Be On the Look Out] list also has terms
that could be related to Israel, looking for applications that ‘deal
with disputed territories in the Middle East’ and ‘may be inflammatory.’
Well, golly! What kind of a group calls a particular area of land
“disputed territories,” which the vast majority of people, either for
ideological or simply conformity refer to as the “West Bank?” Yes, that
would be strong Zionist groups such as Z STREET.
I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for them to admit that they targeted Americans in Israel because we overwhelmingly support Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria and because we didn't vote for Obama. Maybe that's why so many of us were audited.
The IRS is sickeningly corrupt - no better than the 'tax authorities' of a banana republic. It's time to clean house at the IRS - but to do that, you'd have to start at the White House.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (right) is denying a report that he testified against his former boss, Avigdor Lieberman (left). This is from the first link.
A short time
after the programs were aired, Ayalon denied in a written statement that he was
even questioned by police, and Liberman maintained his innocence on all
charges.
What gives these reports a soap-opera feel is that earlier this
month Liberman, in a complete surprise, left Ayalon off his party’s list of
candidates for the next Knesset as part of the merged Likud- Beytenu list.
According to the Channel 2 report, the Yisrael Beytenu party leader is expected
to try to defend himself by saying Ayalon was taking revenge.
Liberman is
also expected, according to Channel 2, to point to an earlier interview by
Ayalon in which he supposedly said he did not remember the events surrounding
the allegations against Liberman.
The prosecution and the police both
refused to confirm or deny whether Ayalon was recently
questioned.
According to the broadcasts, the deputy foreign minister was
questioned only recently about the affair, which until then had only involved
allegations that former ambassador Ze’ev Ben- Aryeh leaked investigative
material to Liberman, after which Liberman passively withheld information on
this from a Foreign Ministry committee that was considering Ben-Aryeh for a new
posting in Latvia.
The new allegations against Liberman, which started to
surface last week, are that he did not just passively withhold information, but
actively interfered in the appointment process on Ben-Aryeh’s behalf.
The
reports also said that 10 candidates originally had sought the Latvia position,
but most dropped out when promised other promotions – possibly by Liberman
through other Foreign Ministry officials speaking on his behalf.
Other
media reports have alleged that Liberman concealed negative reports about
Ben-Aryeh from the appointments committee. Yediot Aharonot quoted sources who
said that “the influence of Liberman” was pervasive throughout the
process.
Liberman maintains that Ben-Aryeh was an able diplomat who was
well-suited for the job.
But the State Prosecutor's office (surprise) doesn't exactly have clean hands either.
Also on Monday, the State Comptroller’s Office formally
confirmed that it had received requests to investigate Attorney-General Yehuda
Weinstein’s handling of the Liberman case.
Liberman and many other
politicians have questioned Weinstein’s decision to delay an indictment so he
could investigate the new charges after the attorney-general announced he would
file the indictment last week, and after Liberman had already resigned as
foreign minister.
A spokeswoman for the YAHBAL serious and international crimes unit, which investigated the Liberman
case, on Monday refused to explain why the case was reopened – when just last
week she had said the unit considered the matter closed.
She added that
the case was, from the unit’s point of view, complete, and as it had been handed
over to the prosecutor, it was his office that was responsible for providing
answers about the recent developments.
Media reports indicated that there
may have been disagreements between the prosecution and the police about
reopening the case for more questioning, but it is Weinstein who ultimately will
make the final decision.
On Sunday, the state explained its decision to
reopen the case for further questioning based on a Channel 10 news report from
last week indicating that the fraud allegations against Liberman could be
amended to include active fraud instead of mere passive fraud.
One
ministry source said that while it was not unusual for foreign ministers to
indicate their preferences for ministerial posts, what made this case different
was the allegation that Liberman received something from Ben-Aryeh beforehand.
Furthermore, the source said, Ben-Aryeh did not distinguish himself as a
diplomat worthy of such a posting after having just recently returned from
Belarus.
The level of corruption in this country is worthy of a third world banana republic despite the fact that we supposedly have so many safeguards in place. It's blatant, open and shameless (see "Olmert, Ehud"). And it's all an outgrowth of the days when the state was the party and the party was the state and all the animals were equal except for the ones who were more equal. Will we ever root out this country's socialist past? Don't bet on it.
Breaking: Lieberman may be forced to resign over 'minor' breach of trust charge
Despite all the 'serious' charges against him dropped, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman may be 'forced' to resign because he has been indicted on the relatively 'minor' charge of breach of trust at the conclusion of a six-(you read that correctly) investigation.
The state prosecution announced on Thursday
that it would indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on breach of
trust and fraud charges, but that the major claims of obstruction of
justice and money laundering would be dropped.
The question now is whether Liberman will be
forced to step down over the indictment. Liberman reportedly said two
years ago that he would quit if he was charged in the main case,
involving overseas shell companies. An Israel Radio analyst said it was
likely Liberman would leave office ahead of upcoming elections.
...
Liberman was instead indicted on breach of
trust and fraud charges for receiving classified Justice Ministry
documents related to his investigation from former ambassador to
Belarus, Ze’ev Ben Aryeh.
In recent weeks, reports leaked that the
prosecution plans to drop the main charges and settle for an indictment
on the breach of trust case alone.
According to a Channel 2 report on Wednesday
night, the prosecution decided to drop the more substantial part of the
case after a key witness intimated that she would withdraw her testimony
and take the stand in favor of Liberman. Other potential witnesses have
either died since the launch of the investigation or have refused to
testify.
I'm not a big Lieberman fan. But isn't it odd that just a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about former Prime MinisterEhud K. Olmertrunning for office despite his conviction for breach of trust.
Why the double standard?
And why are politics in this country so corrupt that breach of trust is considered a 'minor' charge?
Olmert's acquittal in the case of the cash-filled envelopes he received from American-Jewish businessman Morris Talansky was based not on the facts, but on the court's legal and normative interpretation of them. And in this situation, it is not unusual for the Supreme Court to intervene. The trial court found much of Talansky's testimony to be credible, and concluded that he indeed gave Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars. It also found that Olmert, at Talansky's request, recommended him to businessmen such as Yitzhak Tshuva and Sheldon Adelson, in an effort to promote Talansky's business. Nevertheless, the court found that these facts do not pass the so-called Sheves Test - the standard set in an earlier case for proving the crime of breach of trust. This finding requires a normative reexamination by the Supreme Court, because if these acts don't pass the test, then a new normative test is needed to protect the public from the ties between government and big business.
Moreover, the trial court decided that the cash fund which attorney Uri Messer managed for Olmert did not have to be reported to the state comptroller, because the money might have been used for legitimate political purposes. The Supreme Court ought to decide whether maintaining a secret hoard of cash, some of which was given to Olmert without any records or monitoring of its use, is compatible with this possibility. Prosecutors should seriously consider appealing the verdict in the Rishon Tours case as well. The scarlet thread running through the verdict is its conclusion that because Olmert and his staff could have double-billed even more flights than they actually did, thereby gaining even more money, this indicates that no fraud was intended. But this argument is unconvincing. Con men don't always milk their scams for everything they can - sometimes for reasons of convenience, and sometimes to avoid arousing suspicion. The same goes for the claim that Olmert, even though it was provend that he read and signed the relevant documents, was too busy to study them thoroughly and understand them. This argument returns us to the bad old days when people in power made their underlings the fall guys.
Hmmm. Both on legal grounds and on the grounds of the political surprise of seeing Haaretz trying to bury Olmert. Maybe they're mad at him for not giving the country away fast enough.
I guess it's not unexpected that 'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen congratulated his old buddy Ehud K. Olmert on his acquittal this past week from most of the corruption charges against him (Hat Tip: Jonathan Schanzer via Twitter).
President Mahmoud Abbas telephoned former Israel premier Ehud Olmert on Tuesday to congratulate him on his acquittal on two corruption charges, Israeli media reported.
Abbas wished Olmert the best of luck in the future, as foreign ambassadors and Israeli ministers flooded the Olmert's office with messages, Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Adelson and Olmert had been friends for many years, but Olmert, a longtime hard-liner on the Palestinian issue, had as prime minister come to embrace the idea of a two-state solution as the only way of preserving Israel as a democratic state with a Jewish majority. Adelson was apoplectic. His answer to the Jewish-Arab demographic trend-line was simple: “I think Jews should have lots of sex. That is the solution to our demographic problem.” Adelson spent nearly two hundred million dollars to launch a free daily newspaper, Israel Hayom, and set out to use it to help make Netanyahu prime minister; the daily, widely viewed as a Netanyahu mouthpiece, became known as Bibi-ton, and it attacked Olmert fiercely. Adelson could not take credit for the prime minister’s eventual demise—Olmert resigned after being indicted on charges of corruption—but he did play a crucial role in electing Netanyahu.
"We are not looking for conspiracy theories but we want answers to facts," a source close to Olmert said. "Certain people became part of the political game and brought about investigations, which led to his resignation. You have to ask yourself whether these things should be investigated."
The source noted that in October 2007, an American Jew testified to the police about alleged bribes given to Olmert by New York financier Moshe Talansky and that the Talansky investigation led to others. He complained that a woman testified against Olmert from the US, and it was later found that her husband ran a right-wing, anti-Olmert blog. He also cited the founding of the newspaper Israel Hayom by right-wing American Jew Sheldon Adelson and its role in bringing down Olmert.
"People intoxicated by power toppled a prime minister,” former minister Haim Ramon told Israel Radio. “American right-wing Jews who filed countless complaints against Olmert have to be investigated. They saw Olmert as the man who could deliver an agreement with the Palestinians. Consider what Olmert could have done had he remained prime minister for two more years instead of Netanyahu.”
Actually, I shudder at the thought of two more years with Olmert as Prime Minister. But I doubt that things would be very different with the 'Palestinians.' Just a lot more talking and a 'settlement freeze.'
Olmert himself told CNN's Christian Amanpour when he came to New York for The Jerusalem Post Conference in April that he had been the victim of a right-wing conspiracy involving American millionaires. Like Ramon, he refused to name names.
“[Trying to make peace] was a killer for me,” he said. “I had to fight against superior powers, including millions and millions of dollars that were transferred from this country by figures in the extreme right-wing who tried to topple me. There is no question about it. I know the names of people who spent millions of dollars who tried to stop me. They wanted to prevent a government led by me from achieving peace.”
But was the problem a government led by Olmert, or was the problem 'peace'? I believe that the problem was 'peace.' Quite simply, it's impossible at any price that would not result in - God forbid - the extirpation of the State of Israel.
Something tells me that Sheldon Adelson is not losing sleep at night worrying about Ehud Olmert. Keep this in mind: Yisrael HaYom has become extraordinarily popular because of its marketing plan (it's handed out for free and lives on ad revenues), and because there was no other newspaper in Israel that was expressing the points of view that it expresses. Apparently, no Israelis were willing to bankroll such a venture. There is nothing wrong with Adelson doing so. Ask Rupert Murdoch.
And not to say that the decision to do so was illegitimate - it was certainly within her rights - but might the results of the Rishontours and Talansky cases have been different if Olmert's office administrator, Shula Zaken, had testified against him instead of taking the fall for him?
I am sure that many of you heard on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert was acquitted of many of the corruption charges against him. That prompted the Twitter exchange below between me and columnist Shmuel Rosner. Attila Somfalvi expresses similar sentiments in YNet:
One can like Olmert or hate him. One can endorse his political views or object to them. However, it’s not legitimate to persecute him just because he does not fit the conception, and it is not legitimate to use a delusional witness like Morris Talansky and make him the key witness against a serving prime minister.
The process of Olmert’s return to the public theater started Tuesday morning and is expected to continue in the near future. It will not be a short process, yet Olmert has no intention of giving up. Not now, with a powerful backwind; not now, when quite a few Israelis from the center of the political spectrum speak longingly about his term as prime minister.
Olmert left the political establishment involuntarily. He embarked on a fight for his good name, and on Tuesday he managed to prove that he is not a liar, a cheat, a corrupt man or a thief. He may be a hedonist, he may be arrogant, and he may be cynical. These are his personal problems. However, he is no criminal, and this is what should matter in the public discourse. He has been acquitted by the court, and as one who was forced to quit Israel’s top political post he is now entitled for another chance.
Had it not been for the Holyland trial that cannot be forgotten, and which is also premised on a problematic witness, Olmert would have returned to the political game Wednesday morning already. Such return, even though it’s still remote, may prompt a dramatic change in the entire political landscape.
Olmert is the opposite of everything that Netanyahu represents in terms of decision-making, in the desire to lead Israel to a diplomatic agreement with the Palestinians, and in the determination and courage he displayed as prime minister. He may deeply shake up the political Center. The former PM possesses what the others (Shelly Yachimovich, Yair Lapid) don’t.
Had he returned tomorrow morning with the acquittal in his hand, everyone currently playing in the centrist theater – ranging from Yair Lapid to Tzipi Livni and from Haim Ramon to Shaul Mofaz – would have paled in comparison to the tornado that currently pushes Olmert to again become legitimate. At the right time and in the right place, with plenty of field work, Olmert may be the only political force that possesses both the experience and ability to weaken the Likud and be a real premiership candidate vis-à-vis Benjamin Netanyahu.
There are a few points that need to be made.
First, yes the State Prosecutor's office is corrupt, although this is only the second highly visible political trial I can recall in which the target was someone on the Left (the last one was Haim Ramon, who got off on lesser charges). The Prosecutor's office tends to persecute politicians from the Right and those 'investigations' and trials drag on for years (Aryeh Deri and Avigdor Lieberman come to mind). They know how to stand down when a politician is useful to their political world view (Ariel Sharon).
But Olmert was useful to the State Prosecutors' world view, so why did they go after him? I believe it was because the public wanted him out (mostly for his handling of the Second Lebanon War, after which he shamelessly stayed on after his partners - Amir "Comrade" Peretz and Dan Halutz - at least had the decency to resign). I believe that the prosecutors felt that this was a chance to show that they also go after politicians on the Left and not just after the Bibi Netanyahu's (remember Nannygate? The Bar-On affair?), Tzachi HaNegbi's, Gila Gamliel's and Rabbi Shlomo Benizri's of the world.
The media is all over the Prosecutors for going after Olmert precisely because Olmert was pursuing policies that reflect their world view when he was tossed out. They don't care about the Prosecutors' credibility: They care about the Leftist political agenda.
What's unsaid in all this is that the Prosecutors' office remains one of the surest routes to a Supreme Court justice's chair. The same corrupt world view that dominates the Prosecutor's office subsequently sits on the bench.
And you wonder why the Right has so little respect for the court?
As to Olmert, assuming that his underlings take the hit for Holyland (as his office manager, Shula Zaken, did in the two matters for which he was acquitted on Tuesday), no one can stop him from running again. Hopefully, with Israelis having seen him for what he really is, Olmert's return will not be successful. I would not bet on that (voting only for a party tends to shield politicians from true accountability here).
Then again, I wouldn't bet on him getting off for the Holyland case either. There are several people on trial there who are not Olmert underlings and who will do what is best for them and not what is best for him (Zaken declined to testify in order to protect Olmert).
Suha claimed that the arrest warrant coincided with the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to seek membership in UNESCO and the UN with the aim of defaming her husband and the Palestinian cause. She said that if her husband were alive he would have told her not to worry about the allegations and that they [the Tunisians] can go to hell.
She added that the former Tunisian first lady kicked her and her daughter, Zahwa, out of Tunisia in a humiliating manner. "The Tunisian authorities packed all our personal belongings in cartons and asked us to leave the house which was given to us in Tunis,” Suha Arafat said. “Tarabulsi also threatened to throw our personal items to the street within 48 hours if we did not leave the country. She also stripped me of my Tunisian citizenship.”
She said that since Arafat’s death the Palestinian Authority has been paying her a monthly salary of $12,000.
In an interview with a Tunisian TV station, Suha said that the school was the only business she had with Tarabulsi. “It was a humanitarian deal,” she explained. “I wanted to start a university for unprivileged people. Leila [Tarabulsi] was the real president of Tunisia for 23 years. All of the Tunisian people were oppressed. I was also a victim of her.”
So if the charges aren't true, why would the opponents of the people who threw her out be going after her? An Arab/Muslim country trying to embarrass the 'Palestinians'? You've got to be kidding. And by the way, why is she getting $12,000 per month in foreign aid money (the 'Palestinians' have nothing else) as a salary for shopping in Paris? Hmmm.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
