Man Convicted of Bribery for Advising Former Israeli President's Aide

By איתן גליקמן

Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba

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Hebrew · 7 newsrooms covering

Mezid Hamdan was convicted in the Haifa District Court of bribery for giving money to Ze'ev Dolinsky, a senior advisor to former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Hamdan admitted to transferring at least 6,000 shekels between 2018 and 2020 for help with government matters. As part of a plea deal, both sides will request a six-and-a-half-month sentence served as community service, plus a suspended sentence and a fine. The court is also handling other defendants in the case.

The story in 6 lines · by baba

Mezid Hamdan was convicted of bribery for paying Ze'ev Dolinsky, an advisor to former President Reuven Rivlin.
Hamdan transferred at least 6,000 shekels to Dolinsky between 2018 and 2020 for assistance with government matters.
The conviction is based on Hamdan's admission as part of a plea deal.
The parties will request a six-and-a-half-month sentence served as community service.
The court also ordered a suspended sentence and a fine for Hamdan.
Another defendant, Nissim Cohen, received a reduced sentence of 22 months for bribery and money laundering.

Man Convicted of Bribery for Advising Former Israeli President's Aide — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

The Haifa District Court convicted Mezid Hamdan on Monday of bribery offenses for giving money to Ze'ev Dolinsky, who served as a senior personal advisor to former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Hamdan was convicted based on his admission as part of a plea deal with a revised indictment.

According to the indictment, filed by lawyers Ido Nulman and Yehoshua Malk of the Tax and Economic Crimes Prosecution, Hamdan, who engaged in promoting private individuals' interests with government bodies, sometimes for payment, exploited his long-standing acquaintance with Dolinsky, stemming from their joint activity in the Likud party, to advance his own and his clients' economic interests. Between 2018 and 2020, Hamdan transferred at least 6,000 shekels to Dolinsky in exchange for assistance in advancing requests with government and public authorities, including in planning and construction, licenses, entry permits to Israel, and medical matters. Dolinsky used his public position and connections to advance these requests.

Additionally, Hamdan, along with another defendant, Marwan Rayan, acted to bribe Dolinsky to promote appeals against the results of Ministry of Health certification exams that two family members of Rayan had failed. Judge Muhammad Ali of the Haifa District Court convicted Hamdan of bribery offenses based on his admission.

As part of the plea agreement, the parties agreed to request a sentence of six and a half months of actual imprisonment, to be served through community service. The parties will also request a suspended sentence and a fine, the amount of which will be determined by the court. Earlier this year, the District Court sentenced Nissim Cohen, another defendant in the case who served as a parliamentary aide to then-Knesset Member Yitzhak Vaknin, to two and a half years in prison. Following an appeal to the Supreme Court, his sentence was reduced to 22 months, along with a suspended sentence and a fine, after he was convicted based on his admission of multiple bribery and money laundering offenses. The case is being handled by lawyers Ido Nulman, Yehoshua Malk, and Tamar Bornstein of the Tax and Economic Crimes Prosecution. Proceedings continue against the remaining defendants.