21 Nov
Israel, Latest

All You Need to Know About Netanyahu’s Indictment

What happened today? For the first time in Israel’s history, a sitting prime minister has been indicted on criminal charges. The most serious charge is of bribery in what’s known as Case 4000, in which Netanyahu is accused of providing regulatory benefits to Israeli media tycoon Shaul Elovich in return for favorable coverage of the prime minister and his family on the popular Elovich-owned Walla! website. Elovich and his wife are also charged with bribery. Netanyahu was also charged with two counts of fraud and breach of trust in cases known as 1000 and 2000. Case 1000 involves receiving gifts (expensive cigars, cases of pink champagne) from billionaires Arnon Milchen and James Packer. Case 2000 features Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Israel’s leading daily Yediot Aharonot. Here, like in the Elovich case, Netanyahu discussed a deal in...

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11 Nov
Latest

Son of Jewish Refugee Elected Prime Minister of New Zealand

By Nonna Gorilovskaya John Key, son of a Jewish refugee, was elected the next prime minister of Middle-earth New Zealand, the country best known for its kiwi fruit and as the gorgeous backdrop for the Lord of the Rings movies. Ruth Lazar, Key's mother, escaped Austria in 1939 with her family to Britain by paying for a paper marriage. After the war, she married George Key, and the couple immigrated to New Zealand. John's father died of a heart attack when he was six. Ruth raised John and his two sisters by herself in public housing. Key started out as a currency trader in his 20s and rose to become head of foreign exchange for Merrill Lynch and a multimillionaire. The center-right National Party recruited him to run as an MP in 2002, and his political career...

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