JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two former Israeli Cabinet members were sentenced to prison terms.
Abraham Hirschson, an ex-finance minister, was sentenced Wednesday by a Tel Aviv court to five years and five months in prison, plus a fine of more than $114,000 for embezzling about $500,000 from the National Labor Federation during his tenure as chairman of the organization.
Hirschson was convicted June 8 of larceny, executive theft, fraud, breach of trust, illicitly obtaining funds, money laundering and falsifying corporate documents.
Also Wednesday, Israel’s Supreme Court sentenced former Shas lawmaker Shlomo Benizri to four years in prison and a fine of more than $63,000 following his conviction last year on bribery charges.
The High Court sentence was more than double the prison term handed down last year by the Jerusalem District Court, which Benizri appealed. In their decision, the justices said they increased the sentence in order to fight corruption by Israeli officials.
