On Tuesday, former-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison for two counts of bribery. The charges are in connection to a real estate development in Jerusalem that as mayor of the city, Olmert received bribes to allow leniency for zoning and legal regulation. He is the first prime minister in Israel’s history to be sent to prison following any criminal charges, but Olmert’s sentencing comes only three years after Moshe Katsav was sentenced to a seven-year prison sentence. Israel’s eighth president, a role that is mainly ceremonial, Katsav was sentenced for charges of rape and obstruction of justice in what was considered a landmark case. Not only was a former national leader sent to prison without receiving any special treatment from the judicial process–the court case was also decided by an Israeli-Arab judge who sits on Israel’s Supreme Court.

The sentencing of former-Prime Minister Olmert is another demonstration of Israel’s adherence to rule of law as a model democracy. Like Katsav, the courts made a point of ensuring that Olmert didn’t receive any sort of preferential treatment just because of his political status. However, Ehud Olmert’s sentencing is certainly not one that Israel is proud of. Ehud Olmert famously steered the ship as prime minister following his predecessor Ariel Sharon’s medical leave when Sharon fell into a coma. In Annapolis, Olmert also made the most generous offer to the Palestinians yet in order to try and reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. But as Mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert failed to live up to the responsibilities of a public servant and now is going to bear the consequences.

To read more about Olmert’s sentencing, read here: http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Court-sentences-Olmert-to-years-prison-time-First-PM-ever-to-go-behind-bars-352083