FORMER ISRAELI finance minister Avraham Hirchsohn was yesterday sentenced to 5½ years in jail for stealing money from a trade union he headed, while another former minister Shlomo Benizri had his 18-month prison term for taking bribes extended to four years.
The tough sentencing appeared to herald a new no-tolerance policy by the courts as Israel tackles rising corruption.
Hirschsohn, a close associate of former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who himself was forced from office over a series of corruption allegations, was found guilty of embezzling more than €320,000 from a trade union federation which he headed before becoming finance minister.
Handing down the 65-month prison term, the Tel Aviv District Court judge said: “It’s ludicrous to say that the accused didn’t understand the criminal significance of the actions he took. If the person put in charge of the state’s coffers can’t understand that, then who can?”
The judge said “the message needs to be crystal-clear” that even a high-level public servant who abuses his position can expect to be treated like an ordinary criminal.
Binizri, who held a number of ministerial positions for the ultra-orthodox Shas party, decided last year to appeal an 18-month prison term he received for taking bribes from a building contractor.
The appeal court not only rejected his request for a lighter sentence, but decided to significantly increase the jail term to four years. Judge Edmond Levy said: “The growing corruption in Israeli government institutions required action by setting a higher price tag.”
The former minister, clearly shocked by the decision, told reporters: “I find this court ruling very painful because it doesn’t hurt just me. It hurts my family, my children, and tens of thousands of people I cared for every day.”
Binizri’s brother, rabbi David Binizri, blamed high-ranking homosexuals in the law enforcement system for the increased sentence, implying they were out to get revenge against the ultra-orthodox community.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said it hoped the ruling would set a new benchmark for clean government.