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Israel’s political hangover

DAVID SILVERMAN/AFP/Getty Images After last night’s party, Israeli political leaders are back to the grim reality of the ongoing corruption investigation that threatens to bring down Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.  A police gag order on  the investigation will be lifted this evening, allowing the the Israeli media to finally report on the full details of ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
595134_080508_israel_810148422.jpg
595134_080508_israel_810148422.jpg

DAVID SILVERMAN/AFP/Getty Images

DAVID SILVERMAN/AFP/Getty Images

After last night’s party, Israeli political leaders are back to the grim reality of the ongoing corruption investigation that threatens to bring down Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.  A police gag order on  the investigation will be lifted this evening, allowing the the Israeli media to finally report on the full details of the case.

The New York Post revealed last week that Olmert is being investigated for money he may have received as mayor of Jerusalem during the 1990s from a Long Island businessman named Morris Talansky. Israeli media outlets are still barred from publishing Talansky’s name or any other details of the case, though the easy availability of foreign news sources in Israel has made the blackout somewhat ridiculous. The ongoing confusion over Olmert’s legal status has also made further peace negotiations next to impossible.

Watch this space as more details are revealed.

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Read More On Israel | Middle East and North Africa | Palestine

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