Knesset members and legal experts are pondering an anomaly in the law that allows an MK convicted of a crime to retain his parliamentary seat even while confined to prison. The case arose when Tel Aviv District Court Judge Chaim Steinberg imposed a 31/2-year prison sentence on Likud MK Shmuel Rechtman today. Rechtman was convicted of accepting a $20,000 bribe while serving as Mayor of Rehovoth. In addition to the prison term, he was fined IL 70,000 (about $3500).
Under the present law, there is no way to force an MK to resign his seat under any condition. The law states moreover that the Knesset must consist of no fewer than 120 members and even though jailed, Rechtman would be legally obliged to attend to Knesset business.
Judge Steinberg agreed to delay the sentence for 45 days to allow Rechtman to appeal his conviction. Rechtman insists he is innocent and made it clear that he will continue to attend Knesset sessions and has no intention of resigning.
According to political science Prof. Shevah Weiss of Haifa University, the problem stems from a 1952 law that made MKs virtually immune from ouster. The law was adopted, Weiss said, because opposition parties feared that the government, then headed by a coalition of Mapai and the religious parties, might invoke emergency regulations to remove political opponents. Amnon Rubinstein of the Shai faction submitted a bill today to amend the 1952 law to permit the ouster of any member who disgraced the Knesset by being involved in a crime.
When he pronounced sentence this morning, judge Steinberg stressed that given the serious nature of his offense, Rechtman’s public activities had no bearing in the case. He recalled three previous cases where public figures were jailed for monetary crimes, including the acceptance of bribes.
These were David Peled, former director of customs and excise, Michael Tzur, former managing director of the Israel Corp. and Asher Yadlin who was a candidate for the office of Governor of the Bank of Israel. Stiff sentences were imposed, the judge said, because it was important that the public realize that there is no special treatment for highly placed persons who commit crimes.
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