Word: jerusalem
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Since September, the corruption trial of Ehud Olmert has been playing out in Jerusalem District Court with all the makings of a Greek tragedy. The once proud and powerful former Prime Minister of Israel, already forced from office by allegations of sleaze, faces three separate criminal cases, including charges of double billing charities and nonprofit organizations for travel expenses and receiving some $150,000 in cash-stuffed envelopes from a favor-seeking supporter. Olmert pleaded not guilty to all counts in December...
...April 7, Israeli prosecutors arrested Olmert's close confidant and former lawyer Uri Messer on suspicion of helping to collect bribes, obstructing justice and laundering money in conjunction with an unnamed suspect. The local media are barred by a court order from revealing the identity of the suspect. The Jerusalem Post ran an article with the headline "Uri Messer Is the Link." The police are calling the Messer case "one of the most serious corruption affairs in the state's history." (See how Olmert succeeded Ariel Sharon...
...investigation concerns bribes allegedly paid as part of the approval process of major construction projects that occurred first while Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 until 2003, and afterward when he was Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor. He became Prime Minister in 2006. Chief among the controversial projects was the 1999 development of the luxury Holyland residential towers on a prominent Jerusalem hilltop, which had originally been zoned for a hotel. Prosecutors are now alleging that Messer and Jerusalem's city architect at the time facilitated the approval of the much larger - and, some critics would say, much...
With tensions over Israel's planned housing construction in East Jerusalem still lingering, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference on March 22. They both reiterated their dedication to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and addressed the dangers posed by Iran. But it was clear the U.S. would maintain its position against Israeli building on disputed land. Netanyahu met with Clinton and President Obama during his trip, but news of another East Jerusalem housing project threatened to further strain relations...
When the Israeli government announced new East Jerusalem settlements during Vice-President Biden’s visit, it seemed at first to be just another political misstep. But as weeks have passed, and with a chilly Israeli state visit to the White House, tensions have grown rather than decreased. We oppose the original construction of the settlements, and believe this incident provides an important opportunity for the U.S. to consider its relationship with Israel. It is time for the U.S. to reexamine its alliance with the country based on its national security and geopolitical realities...