Timeline: Immigrant, president, rapist

Traces Katsav's life from his birth in Yazd, Iran to appointment as President of Israel and ultimately to his conviction of rape.

By BEN HARTMAN
Moshe Katsav 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Moshe Katsav 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
• December 5, 1945 – Moshe Katsav born “Musa Qasab” in Yazd, Iran.
• June 1951 – Qasab family immigrates and settles in a transit camp near Ashdod, which eventually becomes Kiryat Malachi.
• 1969 – Katsav, a journalist and politician, elected mayor of Kiryat Malachi at age 24.
• 1977 – Wins Knesset seat with victorious Likud.
• 1984 – Minister of Labor and Social Welfare in Yitzhak Shamir’s government.
• 1988 – Minister of transportation, a post he holds until 1992.
• 1996 – Tourism minister, a position he holds until 1999. It is from this office where the allegations by “Aleph” emerge. Also serves as deputy prime minister.
• July 31, 2000 – Elected president, in a surprise victory over favorite Shimon Peres. Becomes only the second non-Ashkenazi president, and the first born in a Muslim country.
• July 2006 – Issues complaint to attorney-general Menahem Mazuz, claiming a former employee is blackmailing him. Probe shifts to Katsav himself, when complainant tells investigators he sexually assaulted her.
• August 22 – Police raid Katsav’s house in Kiryat Malachi. The next day, police question him for 23 hours under caution.
• September 7 – Police say they have basis for an indictment, after probing complaints by four women.
• September 13 – Takes one-day leave of absence to avoid presiding over Dorit Beinisch’s appointment as president of the Supreme Court. The ceremony, usually held at Beit Hanassi, held at the Knesset instead. Interviewed by police for nine hours. By September 27, the number of female complainants climbs to eight.
• October 15 – Police recommend rape and sexual harassment charges.
• October 29 – Mazuz recommends Katsav step down from office.
• January 23, 2007 – Mazuz says he will consider pursuing charges of rape, sexual harassment, obstruction of justice, harassment of a witness, breach of trust and fraud.
• January 24 – Holds press conference at Beit Hanassi, accusing journalists of trying him before the evidence is heard. Accuses Channel 2 news anchor Gadi Sukenik of a witch hunt against him.
• March 7 – Knesset House Committee fails to impeach him.
• June 13 – Kadima minister Peres elected over Likud MK Reuven Rivlin to succeed him.
• June 28 – Katsav’s attorneys reach plea bargain with Mazuz, under which he would plead guilty to sexual harassment and indecent acts in exchange for a suspended sentence and financial compensation for two victims. Submits letter of resignation the next day.
• October 30 – State Prosecution tells High Court of Justice there are contradictions in the testimony of two complainants.
• April 2008 – Calls off plea bargain, after his legal team convinces him prosecutors do not have enough evidence to convict him.
• March 2009 – Indicted by Tel Aviv District Court for rape and sexual assault against three women. Also charged with obstructing justice and witness tampering for his behavior after the scandal broke.
• December 30, 2010 – Convicted of raping former Tourism Ministry worker “Aleph.” Convicted of sexually assaulting “Heh,” who worked at Beit Hanassi, and sexual harassment of “Lamed Yod,” an 18-yearold National Service volunteer at Beit Hanassi.