Former top Yisrael Beytenu official gets 7 years for corruption

The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday sentenced a former senior official in the Yisrael Beytenu party to seven years in prison for corruption.

Former party headquarters chief David Godovsky was convicted under a plea bargain of four counts of taking bribes, three of money laundering, and two for requesting bribes. Other charges of extortion, conspiracy to commit a crime, and tax offenses were dropped under the terms of the deal.

He will start serving out his sentence on July 15, Channel 10 news reported. Godovsky’s attorneys said they intend to appeal the decision.

Judge Yaron Levi, in summing up the case, said Godovsky had misused public funds to “shamelessly benefit his confidants.”

Godovksy was a crony of Fania Kirschenbaum, who stepped down as deputy interior minister in early 2015, shortly after suspicions against her were made public. He was indicted last year along with Kirschenbaum, who was charged with bribery, breach of trust, fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.

At the time, the prosecution alleged that, under Kirshenbaum and Godovsky, large sums of money were inappropriately funneled to non-government organizations and various other groups. In return, those groups allegedly made nepotistic appointments, and also circulated some of the favors back to public service officials in the form of cash kickbacks and benefits.

Ten people in total, among them top former local politicians and party officials, were charged with a range of financial felonies in one of the most far-reaching public corruption cases in Israel’s history.

The three-year investigation, known as Case 242, centered around the Yisrael Beytenu party. It became public in December 2014, with the arrest of 36 serving and former officials. The arrests came about four months before the 2015 election, which saw Yisrael Beytenu shrink to six seats, leading to accusations by party officials that it amounted to a political witch hunt.

No stranger to scandal, the Yisrael Beytenu party’s leader, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, was embroiled in corruption investigations for the better part of 17 years.

The most recent indictment against Liberman was filed in December 2012, just six weeks before the elections of January 2013, forcing him to resign as foreign minister. But in November 2013, Liberman was acquitted of the last set of remaining charges and reinstated as Israel’s chief diplomat.