Olmert Indicted on Corruption Charges

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been formally indicted by the Israel State Prosecutors Office.  The charges link three cases, Talansky, Rishontours, and Investment Center, that have been ongoing investigations.

This is the first time in Israel’s history that a Prime Minister or former Prime Minister has been indicted.  Olmert resigned from office last year as these cases began to unfold.  The indictment does not include bribery charges, although Israeli police had encouraged the prosecutor to include those charges as well.

The defense says that there is no evidence of wrongdoing, but the prosecution is proving that no one is above the law.  I think it is a good step for Israel, a country surrounded by corrupt neighbors, to show the world that everyone is the same in the eyes of the law.

Olmert is almost solely responsible for the fall of Kadima as the leading party in the Knesset.  For that, I thank him.