The Knesset House Committee voted Monday to strip Shas Knesset member Yair Levy of his parliamentary immunity so that he can be brought to trial on fraud and embezzlement charges.
The committee’s 17-0 recommendation with three abstentions is considered certain to be accepted by the Knesset plenary. Levy’s trial could begin early next year.
Levy, who denies the charges, made no effort to fight for his immunity. He said if he did, people would think he has “something to hide.”
A member of the six-man Knesset faction of the Orthodox Shas party and of the Knesset’s powerful Finance Committee, Levy has been accused, among other things, of stealing about $200,000 from El Hama’ayan, a cultural foundation affiliated with Shas, of which he was director general for several years.
He insists he did not take “a single penny.”
But Knesset members said Levy’s refusal to cooperate with the police during a lengthy investigation added weight to Attorney General Yosef Harish’s request that his immunity be lifted.
Harish, though pleased by the committee’s action, said he thought it was wrong to allow Levy to continue to sit on the Finance Committee while awaiting trial for alleged financial improprieties.
But the attorney general does not have the legal power to force a Knesset member to resign or suspend his parliamentary activities.
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