Haredi MK, Convicted Of Taking Bribes And Corruption, Gets "Vacation" From Prison

Former Shas minister leaves Maasiyahu Prison for 24 hours on occasion of his son's engagement. Shlomo Benizri, who was sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court, recently asked President Shimon Peres to pardon him.

  

Benizri takes 1st vacation from jail
Former Shas minister leaves Maasiyahu Prison for 24 hours on occasion of his son's engagement
Boaz Fyler • Ynet

Nearly one year after entering the Maasiyahu Prison in Ramla, former Minister Shlomo Benizri (Shas) left the jail Sunday for his first 24-hour vacation on the occasion of his son's engagement.

Benizri, who was sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court, recently asked President Shimon Peres to pardon him.

As he walked out of the prison gate, the former minister refused to talk to the reporters waiting for him outside. He was accompanied to a car by his personal driver and associates.

In October 2009, a month after beginning his prison sentence, Benizri had asked to leave for his grandson's circumcision ceremony – but was turned down.
 
'He wanted to see life on the outside'

Benizri's lawyer, Attorney Yehoram Malka, said Sunday afternoon that the former minister and his family were "in a very serious crisis. He just asked to see life on the outside, to see cars driving. That's how deep his distress was.

"I'm glad the Israel Prison Service showed an understanding to Benizri's distress. He has been behind bars for an entire year," Malka told Ynet.

According to the lawyer, in the recent months Benizri's family welcomed three new grandchildren, but the former minister was not allowed to take part in the celebrations.

"We hope our request for amnesty will be answered and that they understand the distress among Benizri's family members as well. The situation in this family will never be the same."

Shas Ministers Eli Yishai and Ariel Atias are expected to attend the engagement party for Benizri's son on Sunday evening. On Monday morning, before returning to prison, the former minister is expected to attend a prayer at Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's home and to meet with the spiritual leader in person.

"The rabbi has been following Benizri closely and with a lot of grief during his stay in prison. Had he been serving the original sentenced delivered by the District Court, he would have already been a free man today," the lawyer added.

In February, Benizri asked President Peres to grant him amnesty and said he had no plans to return to politics. "I have lost my assets, my financial situation is dire and I do not intend to return to politics. I ask of you, honorable president, to take into consideration my long years of contribution to the State of Israel and alleviate the punishment that is too heavy for me to carry," Benizri wrote in his appeal.
 
He also complained of his conditions in prison, and his associates claimed he was "getting cold food and sleeping with many people in a crowded room."
 
Following the complaint, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai initiated a conversation with Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.
 
On his first days behind bars, the former minister's relatives came to visit him at Maasiyahu. Several days later, he was visited by Rabbi Yosef, Minister Yishai and members of the Council of Torah Sages.

Benizri was convicted in April 2008 of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, committed during his tenure as labor and welfare minister. He was charged of receiving funds from contractor Moshe Sela in exchange for providing him with information to help his business.

The former minister was originally sentenced to 18 months in prison, but a subsequent appeal – by both the prosecution and the defense – saw the court choose to aggravate his sentence to four years.

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Comments

[Menachem Mendel lll]

This proves the power and infinite wisdom of Ha'Shem.

Who among us can question the All Mighty?

Let's keep the momentum rolling in order to get Reb Rubashkin sprung out of Chader since it was utlimately The Abishter who made all this possible to begin with.

Errily similar to when "we" mosied all down to the land of Egypt and The Abishter made it possible (Deuteronomy 26:8) to let our people go!

The Moschiach is amongst us right now! There is no other explination to this modern day miracle.

Oomain.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Benizri is the same neanderthal that blamed earthquakes on Israel's lenient attitude to homosexuality.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7255657.stm

What's the culturally sensitive and appropriate Sephardic equivalent to "My heart weeps cold borsht for your prison sentence?"

[dlz]

Office of the Chief Rabbi:
And you, of course, are so liberal and progressive that you think that if someone made a remark with which you disagree then he deserves to be imprisoned.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

dlz - no. No prison for the merely stupid or superstitious, but only for the corrupt bribe takers.
It is however, nice when the stupied and superstitious move out of my locale and go elsewhere to create their own gov'ts of the people by the people and for the people, e.g. Kiryas Yoel or Utah.

[chaim1]

The real answer is that sefardim are not to be trusted with high office.
He is not the only shas minister to end up in prison.
The rest of israeli society all political camps never trusted them and made sure only europeans held high office.
I suppose its they have not really come out of the jungle yet and are equated to blacks here.
Rabbi Shach with all due respect gave them their heads and in the end they all turned against him. One can be a big godol in learning but it doesnt always follow that they understand wordly matters.
They are treated second class and they are all the time trying to get into ashkenazi schools although they have their own thinking that alone will project them higher. one never hears of an ashkenazi wanting to go to a sefardi school.
Even now in government the shas party dont know where they are. are they zionist or not. do they know the difference?

[Alter Kocker]

My bet is if he is not granted a pardon, there will be rioting in Mea Shearim, there will be dumpsters set ablaze and there will be protests in front of the Knesset. There will be dinners and luncheons to gather funds for a plea or a bribe, and threats will be made to ministers and supreme court judges.

This is the tenor of Ultra-orthodox/Haredi/Chabad politics in this day and age, and it has ultimately made a mockery of justice in Israel, and has made the Jewish people in the USA a laughing-stock as the papers pick up on our low-life fellow yidden protesting that a convicted pedophile or thief has to actually do prison time, instead of repenting in shul and giving tzedakah.

[dlz]

chaim1:
Politics is by its very nature corrupt and corrupting. I think the reason why there seem to be more Sefaradi than Ashkenazi politicians in prison is more a reflection of the racism of the police and the court system in Israel.

[dlz]

Alter Kocker:
If you think that there will be riots in Meah Shearim for a convicted MK, you really have no understanding of Israeli Charedi society.

[chaim1]

meah shearim are neturai karta.
they most likely dance for joy that MK get sent to prison. And would suggest that all the non zionist ones belong there!

[Hometown Postville]

Boo hoo! How many criminals miss out on family events because of being in prison? Or are in "despair" because they haven't ridden in a car for over a year? Is'nt this the price you pay for your actions? Not many jailbirds would have their "personal driver and associates" pick them up at the gate. So what's the sense of sending them to prison for minor white collar crimes (paid for with tax dollars),when they could probably afford a hefty fine instead?