Olmert Takes Stand in Corruption Trial
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began testifying on his own behalf at his trial on corruption charges.
Olmert told judges in Jerusalem District Court Tuesday on the first day of the defense phase of the trial that “I am fighting for my life here and nothing else.”
He spent most of the session telling his life story, though the judges tried to cut him off.
“What I’m telling you connects to who I am – not who I was made out to be. … It’s very very important that you get to know the man that I believe I am,” Olmert told them.
On Monday, Olmert had requested that the hearing be postponed for medical reasons, but the judges rejected the request. His testimony is expected to last several court sessions.
Olmert is on trial in three cases: for allegedly paying for family vacations by double billing Jewish organizations through the Rishon Tours travel agency; for allegedly accepting envelopes full of cash from American businessman Morris Talansky; and for allegedly granting personal favors to attorney Uri Messer when he served as trade minister in the Investment Center case.
The ex-Israeli leader is charged with fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and tax evasion.
Olmert is the first former Israeli prime minister to stand trial. He resigned as prime minister in September 2008 after police investigators recommended that he be indicted.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
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.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!