Police expand Holylandprobe to US to grill Olmert's brotherHolyland building frozen for 100daysDuring the hearing that followed, the state called a number of witnesses who had served as officials in the organizations that were allegedly double-billed and who were responsible for organizing the trips.One of them was Bracha Hadar, who was at the time in charge of organizing events abroad for Keren Hayesod. According to the indictment, between May 5 and May 14, 2005, Olmert traveled to the Far East, the US (Las Vegas) and Canada on state business and on behalf of Keren Hayesod and Aleh Canada.Keren Hayesod asked him to appear at a special event in Las Vegas, which it sponsored together with the United Jewish Communities.According to the indictment, Olmert flew from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas to Toronto to Ottawa to Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok and back to Tel Aviv.Rishon Tours allegedly charged the state NIS 45,433 for tickets for Olmert and his wife, Aliza, for the leg of the journey from Toronto to Tel Aviv. It also allegedly charged Keren Hayesod $13,048 for a return trip from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas for Olmert and a bodyguard. Aleh Canada allegedly paid $14,287 for tickets for Olmert and his bodyguard.The state charged that the ticket Olmert bought actually cost $16,639 and that by charging each of the three institutions, he pocketed $10,696.Hadar testified in court that she had asked Rachel Raz-Risbi, who was responsible for Olmert’s appearances abroad, for a detailed itinerary of the minister’s trip, adding that she had heard he was flying to other destinations as well. Raz-Risbi refused to provide it.“Raz-Risbi said his other flights had nothing to do with this one,” Hadar said. “She said it wouldn’t cost us more.”“I tried to stand up to her, but she would not budge,” Hadar continued. “I asked her if Olmert was attending other events. She said yes. I then said perhaps we could make a deal to share the expenses with the other organizations.”Hadar said that Raz-Risbi replied, “One has nothing to do with other. It doesn’t cost you more.”She added that Raz-Risbi told her that if Keren Hayesod did not agree to these terms, Olmert would not come to its event.When Hadar protested, Raz-Risbi allegedly handed the phone to Zaken, Olmert’s bureau chief, who has also been indicted in the Rishon Tours affair. According to Hadar, Zaken told her the same thing. “One has nothing to do with the other, it doesn’t make the ticket more expensive, there’s no connection between them.”Hadar’s testimony marked the first time that Zaken herself was directly implicated in the alleged double-billing system. Her lawyer, Micha Fetman, later tried to unravel the witness’s testimony by arguing that she did not remember the events and that Raz-Risbi was the only one who had told Hadar that the way Keren Hayesod was charged did not make the cost to her organization any higher.Hadar also testified that it was common practice for organizations toshare the costs of sending a speaker abroad if he was going to appearat more than one event.Danny Baram, who is in charge of foreign relations for AKIM – TheNational Association for the Habilitation of the Mentally Handicappedin Israel, testified that it was much cheaper to pay for Olmert’sflight and lodging than to hire more world-renowned speakers, includingBinyamin Netanyahu. When Akim approached Netanyahu, who did not holdoffice at the time, to speak on the organization’s behalf abroad,Netanyahu demanded $50,000. “This was an unethical demand and wedropped the matter,” Baram said.According to the indictment, Akim paid $5,675 for Olmert’s flight tothe event in New York. Another organization paid him $2,000 for thesame flight.
Zaken implicated in Rishon Tours case
Olmert lashes out at "brutal witch hunt against me".
Police expand Holylandprobe to US to grill Olmert's brotherHolyland building frozen for 100daysDuring the hearing that followed, the state called a number of witnesses who had served as officials in the organizations that were allegedly double-billed and who were responsible for organizing the trips.One of them was Bracha Hadar, who was at the time in charge of organizing events abroad for Keren Hayesod. According to the indictment, between May 5 and May 14, 2005, Olmert traveled to the Far East, the US (Las Vegas) and Canada on state business and on behalf of Keren Hayesod and Aleh Canada.Keren Hayesod asked him to appear at a special event in Las Vegas, which it sponsored together with the United Jewish Communities.According to the indictment, Olmert flew from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas to Toronto to Ottawa to Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok and back to Tel Aviv.Rishon Tours allegedly charged the state NIS 45,433 for tickets for Olmert and his wife, Aliza, for the leg of the journey from Toronto to Tel Aviv. It also allegedly charged Keren Hayesod $13,048 for a return trip from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas for Olmert and a bodyguard. Aleh Canada allegedly paid $14,287 for tickets for Olmert and his bodyguard.The state charged that the ticket Olmert bought actually cost $16,639 and that by charging each of the three institutions, he pocketed $10,696.Hadar testified in court that she had asked Rachel Raz-Risbi, who was responsible for Olmert’s appearances abroad, for a detailed itinerary of the minister’s trip, adding that she had heard he was flying to other destinations as well. Raz-Risbi refused to provide it.“Raz-Risbi said his other flights had nothing to do with this one,” Hadar said. “She said it wouldn’t cost us more.”“I tried to stand up to her, but she would not budge,” Hadar continued. “I asked her if Olmert was attending other events. She said yes. I then said perhaps we could make a deal to share the expenses with the other organizations.”Hadar said that Raz-Risbi replied, “One has nothing to do with other. It doesn’t cost you more.”She added that Raz-Risbi told her that if Keren Hayesod did not agree to these terms, Olmert would not come to its event.When Hadar protested, Raz-Risbi allegedly handed the phone to Zaken, Olmert’s bureau chief, who has also been indicted in the Rishon Tours affair. According to Hadar, Zaken told her the same thing. “One has nothing to do with the other, it doesn’t make the ticket more expensive, there’s no connection between them.”Hadar’s testimony marked the first time that Zaken herself was directly implicated in the alleged double-billing system. Her lawyer, Micha Fetman, later tried to unravel the witness’s testimony by arguing that she did not remember the events and that Raz-Risbi was the only one who had told Hadar that the way Keren Hayesod was charged did not make the cost to her organization any higher.Hadar also testified that it was common practice for organizations toshare the costs of sending a speaker abroad if he was going to appearat more than one event.Danny Baram, who is in charge of foreign relations for AKIM – TheNational Association for the Habilitation of the Mentally Handicappedin Israel, testified that it was much cheaper to pay for Olmert’sflight and lodging than to hire more world-renowned speakers, includingBinyamin Netanyahu. When Akim approached Netanyahu, who did not holdoffice at the time, to speak on the organization’s behalf abroad,Netanyahu demanded $50,000. “This was an unethical demand and wedropped the matter,” Baram said.According to the indictment, Akim paid $5,675 for Olmert’s flight tothe event in New York. Another organization paid him $2,000 for thesame flight.