Faina Kirschenbaum, Deputy Minister of the Interior and former MK of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, was convicted today (Thursday) of taking bribes in an affair known as the “Yisrael Beiteinu affair.” The former Knesset member was convicted on most counts against her and besides her, Rami Cohen, the director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, was also convicted.
The indictment accused her of receiving funds for personal and private needs, out of coalition money. Judge Yaron Levy wrote in his ruling that “Faina Kirschenbaum systematically took bribes for six years.”
“The defendants acted in a corrupt pattern of action. The defendant used her governmental power as the coalition treasurer of Yisrael Beiteinu and the defendant used his connections with the defendant to obtain personal capital.
The indictments filed in court included more than 10 cases. The indictments, filed by the Economic Department of the State Attorney’s Office, state that from 2006 until the opening of the open police investigation in December 2014, Kirschenbaum in many cases took advantage of her role as a public servant, especially her control over state budgets (coalition funds) to demand bribes. , From non-profit organizations and private entities. This, in the form of invalid favors for her or her family members, for the Yisrael Beiteinu party and for those close to her, to her or to the party.
Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the State Attorney’s Office, Adv. Maor Even Chen, said: “The verdict given today is another step in the fight against corruption. The verdict is based on the evidentiary infrastructure that we interpreted in court over the course of dozens of hearings, and on the great trust placed in witnesses and state witnesses. “
The head of the department, Advocate Dan Eldad, added that “even though we knew the details, when we heard the judge read the things – we were shocked again. This is our country, and this is how it has looked for a certain time and in a certain aspect, and the role of all of us is to do everything so that such corruption will not be part of this country. “