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Commentary;
Undoubtedly, almost everyone has heard by now about the alleged connection between Ehud Olmert and one Morris Talansky, aka “the laundryman,” a noted Long Island philanthropist and fund-raiser for Israeli charities.
While this blog has chosen not to play pundit and conjecture as to whether this “alleged” scandal will finally be the one to take the “teflon etrog” Ehud Olmert down, the Ynet piece below ought to surely get a lot of working-stiff Yosef Q. Israelis living at or near poverty-level fired up, and not only at Olmert but at the luxury with which senior Israeli politcos, such as President Shimon Peres or Ehud Barak or Bibi Netanyahu too, are treated (in exchange for what?) on someone else’s tab. MB
Report: Talansky paid for Olmert’s suite in US, by Yitzhak Benhorin (Ynet)
Full Text;
Moshe Talansky, the key witness in the new police investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is feeling the pressure. “I’ve very stressed, I feel imprisoned,” he told Yedioth Ahronoth in an interview published Sunday.
He is anxious to return home, to the United States, but says he will keep his word and stay in Israel for as long as the police needs him to.
As for Olmert – Talansky spoke little of him in the interview, saying only that he lent him some assistance in fundraising for political purposes.
“Talansky paid for Olmert’s stay at the Ritz-Carlton – at $4,717 a night. The invoice was apparently sent to a minibar company he helped back in 2005, with the request to pick up the tab for ‘a senior Israeli cabinet member that had no relation to the business.'”
The American media, however, was a little less quiet, revealing more and more details about the man behind the latest political scandal in Israel: The New York Times reported over the weekend that Talansky paid for Olmert’s stay in a luxurious Washington hotel suite in 2005 when he was a minister in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government.
According to legal documents filed with the State Supreme Court in Nassau County, Talansky paid for Olmert’s stay at the Ritz-Carlton – at $4,717 a night. The invoice was apparently sent to a minibar company he helped back in 2005, with the request to pick up the tab for “a senior Israeli cabinet member that had no relation to the business.”
Minibar’s company attorney, William J. Davis, confirmed that the company paid for Olmert’s one-night stay in 2005, adding he had no idea if Olmert was aware of who ultimately paid the bill.
According to details published in the US press, Talansky is no stranger to legal battles and business disputes, with eight lawsuits files since 1995. Some of the cases include allegations by various business associates, that Talansky, or people working on his behalf, used “intimidation techniques” in order to collect debts or settle business disputes.
Talansky, said Davis, is the kind of businessman who employs a full-time lawyer.
Meanwhile, Olmert’s attorneys Eli Zohar and Roi Belcher announced Saturday that they intend to appeal the Supreme Court against the decision to depose Talansky before any decision on an indictment has been made.
The two argued that the Jerusalem District Court decision to allow the deposition hinders the prime minister’s rights to have his lawyers cross-examine the witness in court.
More Commentary;
This particular revelation raises numerous questions. What exactly does a US$4,717 per night luxury hotel room look like? How can the Prime Minister of a Jewish state, in which substantial numbers of the population live in near constant minus and where a signifant portion of the population lives at or near the poverty line, shameless luxuriate in a paradigm lap of the ultra-rich and famous in one of America’s most exclusive Hotels, Washington’s Ritz-Carlton? By the way, that US$4,717 per night translates into roughly 21,220 NIS based on the approximate exchange rate in 2005. US$4,700, that translates into a week vacation, i.e. Pesach in a 4 star hotel in Eilat for those few Israelis who could afford it.
One can recall, by contrast, the modest lifestyle of Prime Minister Menachem Begin OBM of other former prime ministers.
Associated Press Writer Matti Friedman wrote of having spoken to lawyer Eliad Shraga on the occasion of Israel’s 60th year of modern-day statehood;
Shraga, a reserve paratroops officer, fought in Israel’s Lebanon invasion in 1982 and then in Israel’s war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon two years ago. For nearly two decades, he has headed a group called the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.
“When I see what’s happening with my prime minister, I miss people like David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin, like Golda Meir, people who lived in two-room apartments and made do with very little,” Shraga said. “Even if you didn’t agree with them, you knew they were ethical.”
This blog found the website, presumably the Washington DC Ritz-Carlton Hotel where Olmert stayed and where Talansky allegedly paid the $4,717 per night hotel tab, allegedly laundering it through one of his businesses.
These are pictures of suites similar to the one which Olmert alleged stayed in, allegedly compliments of “the laundryman.”;
The hotel promotes its largest and most exclusive suite [click the word suite and then click details], presumably the one Olmert would have stayed in, as follows;
The Ritz-Carlton Suite
2250 square feetQuarters fit for a King, The Ritz-Carlton Suite is abound with luxurious comforts.
* Separate living room with fireplace
* King bedroom with vanity and dressing area
* Private terrace access from bedroom and living room
* Master bathroom with double vanity and fog-free mirrors
* Separate Jacuzzi tub and shower
* Dining room with seating for 10
* Guest bathroom
* Pantry
* High speed internet to include wireless access
Meanwhile, while Olmert shamelessly luxuriates, most Israelis are hard-pressed to take their families anywhere on vacation. And many if not most residents of southern communities are compelled, through lack of financial resources, to withstand bombardments by Kassam missiles and mortars without break, withouot respite. MB