Ehud Olmert Will Remain Free Until He Exhausts Appeals, Court Rules
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will remain out of prison until he has exhausted his appeals, the country’s Supreme Court ruled.
The seven other men also appealing their convictions in the Holyland affair will stay out of prison as well, the court ruled on Monday.
Olmert was sentenced in May to six years in prison and a $289,000 fine for accepting bribes in the real estate scam known as the Holyland Affair and ordered to report to prison on Sept. 1. The prison date was suspended pending his appeal. He recently began a retrial in the so-called Talansky Affair in Jerusalem District Court.
It is unusual to postpone prison sentences in Israel. Olmert’s lawyer, however, argued that his appeal likely would be successful.
Olmert is the first Israeli prime minister to be sentenced to prison.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.