Three opposition MKs turn to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit to demand that he remove MK Oren Hazan’s parliamentary immunity so that he can be investigated on suspicion of “pimping.”
In a ruling issued earlier in the day, Judge Azaria Elkalai said that Hazan had taken crystal meth, but said it could not be proved that Hazan had provided prostitutes to friends or customers of a casino he was managing in Bulgaria. Still, he threw out Hazan’s libel suit against Channel 2 for reporting as much about Hazan.
In their letter to Mandelblit, MKs Zehava Galon, Michal Rozin and Tamar Zandberg, all of the left-wing Meretz party, note that “pimping and soliciting prostitution are illegal in Israel as well as in Bulgaria.”
They add that there is “great” public importance to an investigation of Hazan.
“We cannot stand by when an elected official is suspected of offenses that carry not only criminal penalties but also legal and moral turpitude, and continues to retain his public office,” they say.
Is our live election coverage important to you?
Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the 2026 Israeli election? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
- Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock to report political developments as they unfold;
- Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and podcasts; and
- Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including our DocuNation streaming film series and weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.
Join The Times of Israel Community
JOIN NOW
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
