Jerusalem - Right-wing American Jews should be investigated for their role in ending the premiership of former prime minister Ehud Olmert and initiating indictments that ended in acquittals, Olmert’s associates said Wednesday.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s court decisions to acquit Olmert on three charges and convict him on one, the people closest to the former prime minister blamed State Prosecutor Moshe Lador for initiating legal hearings that forced Olmert to quit the premiership. On Wednesday, they added right-wing American Jews to the list of the blameworthy.
“We are not looking for conspiracy theories but we want answers to facts,” a source close to Olmert said. “Certain people became part of the political game and brought about investigations, which led to his resignation. You have to ask yourself whether these things should be investigated.”
The source noted that in October 2007, an American Jew testified to the police about alleged bribes given to Olmert by New York financier Moshe Talansky and that the Talansky investigation led to others. He complained that a woman testified against Olmert from the US, and it was later found that her husband ran a right-wing, anti-Olmert blog. He also cited the founding of the newspaper Israel Hayom by right-wing American Jew Sheldon Adelson and its role in bringing down Olmert.
“People intoxicated by power toppled a prime minister,” former minister Haim Ramon told Israel Radio. “American right-wing Jews who filed countless complaints against Olmert have to be investigated. They saw Olmert as the man who could deliver an agreement with the Palestinians. Consider what Olmert could have done had he remained prime minister for two more years instead of Netanyahu.”
Olmert himself told CNN’s Christian Amanpour when he came to New York for The Jerusalem Post Conference in April that he had been the victim of a right-wing conspiracy involving American millionaires. Like Ramon, he refused to name names.
“[Trying to make peace] was a killer for me,” he said. “I had to fight against superior powers, including millions and millions of dollars that were transferred from this country by figures in the extreme right-wing who tried to topple me. There is no question about it. I know the names of people who spent millions of dollars who tried to stop me. They wanted to prevent a government led by me from achieving peace.”
Olmert first charged that American right-wingers were out to get him following a February 8, 2008 report by Channel 2’s Sivan Rahav-Meir that wealthy American Jews had put a million dollar price tag on his political head. The report said private investigators and lawyers had been seeking information from Olmert’s former business partners.
“If you are interested, the compensation will be very, very nice,” a private investigator said in a conversation with a businessman that the businessman taped. “I have been sent by good Jews to remove Olmert from where he is. I am gathering information that Olmert accepted bribes or cheated.”
A source close to Olmert said the Channel 2 report should have been investigated immediately by the police but never was. The source said Olmert was unaware of the tapes until he saw the report.
Five days after the report, in a conversation with reporters in the Knesset cafeteria, Olmert accused The Jerusalem Post of being part of the conspiracy to bring him down. The newspaper’s Khaled Abu Toameh had published a report the day before that he was negotiating the fate of Jerusalem, despite his promise to his coalition partner Shas that the capital would not be on the table.
Unlike his predecessor Ariel Sharon, Olmert rarely visited the Knesset cafeteria, coming only when he wanted to make a statement with his presence. The day before Olmert’s visit to the cafeteria, Hezbollah weapons procurement director Imad Mugniyeh was killed in Dubai, reportedly by Mossad agents.
The Post reported in May 2008 that a group of right-wing rabbis called the Council of Torah and Kabbalah sages had encouraged Talansky to come to Israel and give evidence against Olmert. Yehoshua Meiri, who worked with the organization, said the rabbis wanted to bring Olmert down out of fear he would cede Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount and other parts of Jerusalem.
Talansky acknowledged receiving a blessing from an important rabbi just before he was interrogated by the police, but firmly denies being encouraged to testify before coming to Israel.
“Talansky’s appearance in Israel and police testimony was aimed at harming Olmert,” Meiri said. “The only question was one of timing. When you have one shell left in your cannon, you have to decide when it’s best to fire it.”
Source: Jerusalem Post
This is all bull. Now that Olmert has been " let off the hook" he is trying to become the new hero of the Israeli left.
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