Ehud Olmert requests presidential pardon on bribery conviction
Former Israeli prime minister who spent 16 months behind bars asks Reuven Rivlin for a reprieve
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who spent 16 months in jail on a bribery conviction, has asked the country’s president to pardon him in order to erase his criminal record.
Olmert made the request of President Reuven Rivlin on Monday. A pardon would allow Olmert to return to politics.
Rivlin had turned down a previous pardon request by Olmert while he was still in prison. The president, however, lifted all parole restrictions from Olmert two days after he left prison in July. Olmert served 16 months of a 27-month sentence.
Olmert was the first Israeli prime minister to serve time in prison and be sentenced to jail. He resigned his post in September 2008 after police investigators recommended that he be indicted in multiple corruption scandals.
Last month, Olmert published a nearly 900-page scorched-earth book in which he continued to proclaim his innocence, criticised enemies and allies, and blamed the harm to his political career on extremist forces in the right wing. Olmert wrote the book while he was in prison.
Rivlin would consider the pardon request as he does all others, the president’s office told the local media.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
