CORRUPTION SCANDALS THAT SHOOK ISRAELI POLITICS

Oddly, corruption scandals have become an integral part of politics. From the allegations to the probes, the astonishing revelations, and the judgments, there is always enough to talk about.

Israeli politics similarly possess a fair share of these graft scandals. In fact, the last two decades paraded investigations of every prime minister the nation had. That must be a huge workload on Lahav433 (the country’s anti-corruption unit).

From this long list of graft opprobrium, we have a few ones that quaked the nation’s politics noticeably, mostly involving past Prime Ministers.

• Benjamin Netanyahu

Right from his first term in office as the Prime Minister in 1997, Netanyahu has been constantly probed for different corruption allegations. He had several cases that shook the political spectrum; which is why we find it interesting that he never faced any charges.

• Ariel Sharon

The “Greek Island Affair” in the late 1990s rocked the Israeli political scene, involving Ariel Sharon and a foreign minister. Regardless, he went scot-free without any charges against him.

• Ehud Olmert

From the “Holyland Affair” to the Talansky Affair”, Ehud Olmert was neck-deep in bribery allegations. After serving 19 months in prison for bribery, he got into another bribery scandal less than a year after. Olmert must enjoy this activity as a hobby.

• Aryeh Deri

Most of the 1990s witnessed Deri battling with bribery allegations as an interior minister. He went on to serve a two-year sentence before returning to serve as an interior minister once again.

• Avigdor Lieberman

The present Defense Minister would easily pass as a master at what he does. That only explains why he managed to come out of all of his graft scandals unscathed.