Russian-Israeli tycoon Arkadi Gaydamak was given a six-year prison sentence on Tuesday by a Paris court, for his role in a weapons scandal that became known as “Angolagate”. He has been charged with 790 million dollars worth of arms trafficking to the Angolan government in the nineties, illegal lobbying and money laundering. Gaydamak, 57, who was absent from the hearing, now lives in Russia where he has been involved in several businesses since the fall of the Soviet Union. A total of 42 politicians, businessmen and prominent French figures were brought to trial during the past year over the Angola scandal, which first erupted in the year 2000 after seven years of illicit trafficking. French arms dealer Pierre Falcone, Gaydamak’s business partner, was also given a six-year prison sentence. Jean-Cristophe Miterrand, son of late former French president Francois Miterrand, was given a suspended two-year sentence and a hefty fine. Former French interior minister Charles Pasque was fined for 100,000 euros and given a one-year jail sentence. The trafficking deal supplied weapons, warships and other military equipment to Angolan President José Eduardo de Santos, enabling him to win the Angolan civil war with the Unita insurgents which ended in 2002 and left 500,000 dead and tens of thousands maimed by the munitions. Gaydamak is as flamboyant as he is controversial. Known for his haughty manners and sartorial elegance, Gaydamak made a name for himself in Israel by handing out cash-stuffed envelopes to the needy in Jerusalem streets. He holds several passports — Angolan, Canadian, Israeli, Russian and French — and has been the focus of criminal probes in several countries. He had to pay a 2.5 million-dollar bond to leave Israel for Russia, where he is now believed to have been living since November 2008. Gaydamak was born in the then Soviet Union in 1952 and first moved to Israel in 1972. He left after six months for France, but moved back to the Jewish state again in 2000 after the French authorities started investigating Angolagate. His extravagant lifestyle caught the public eye as he lavishly donated millions of dollars to an array of causes, even handing out cash at street corners. His purchase of the popular football club Beitar Jerusalem and basketball team Hapoel Jerusalem helped further burnish his image inside Israel. In 2006, the media-savvy would-be politician set up a massive holiday camp near Tel Aviv for residents of northern Israel fleeing rockets fired by the Lebanese Hezbollah Shiite militia during the war in July-August. Later that year, he also invited 1,000 residents of the southern city of Sderot on an all-expenses-paid Red Sea holiday so they could enjoy a respite from Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. In 2007 he launched the “Social Justice” party, promising to forge peace between Arabs and Jews and claiming to be the most popular man in Israel but failing to make any political inroads. He also made an unsuccessful run for mayor of Jerusalem in November last year. Indicted in Israel for money laundering, he fled the country in 2008 after his businesses collapsed, leaving him deeply in debt. Some of his investments in Israel had raised eyebrows, including the 2007 acquisition of a 53 percent stake in Ocif Investment and Development for whichlocal media said he paid twice the market

There have been some new developments in the case being labeled Angola-Gate, in which the defendant, Arkadi Gaydamak is alleged to have engaged in illegal weapons sales. The French prosecutor is seeking a five-year prison sentence and a 5 million euro fine. The verdict is expected on March 4th. One of the questions remains that if he will be extradited by the Russians, and if so, will he opt to return to Israel, where he also enjoys citizenship. The charge sheet leveled against him includes illegal weapons dealings with Angola, bribing officials, tax evasion and fraud. The trial has been taking place in France for four months, but the chief defendant has not been present. The indictment contains 468 pages, linking Gaydamak’s partner Pierre Falcon to the case as well. Also involved in the case is a son of a former French president, who assisted in making the connection with Angola. Gaydamak’s attorney explains his client has heart problems, preventing him from being at the trial, also challenging the jurisdiction since the deals were not conducted on French soil. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Jerusalem mayoral hopeful Arkadi Gaydamak was a news item on Monday, but not in a positive way. The trial opened against him and other defendants in France, addressing his sale of $800 million in military armaments to Angola in the 1970s. the Russian-made military hardware was sold in violation of an embargo that was in place at the time.   According to Gaydamak, the sales were made directly from Russia to Angola, without and French involvement whatsoever, bypassing the embargo.   In response to the media splash surrounding the opening of the trail, Gaydamak stated “I stopped the civil war in Angola. Today, Angola is the major supplier of oil to Israel, to Haifa refineries”. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Police report they plan to launch an investigation against Arkadi Gaydamak for alleged political corruption linked to his distribution of cash envelopes to the poor last Purim (reported HERE on YWN). The investigation stems from a compliant filed with Attorney General Menachem Mazuz by the Movement for Quality Government, which viewed the distribution of tzedaka by the ‘want-to-be politician’ as unacceptable. The complaint was accompanied by film footage of Gaydamak giving envelopes while saying, “next year in Jerusalem City Hall”. The announcement of the investigation shocked many, with supporters of the billionaire Jerusalem mayoral hopeful stating the move is politically motivated by opponents of Gaydamak who seek to keep him out of the Israeli political arena. Some recipients of his chessed, members of the chareidi community, say the police announcement is absurd, questioning how the distribution of tzedaka on Purim can be viewed as political corruption. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

According to the Jerusalem Post, The Jerusalem District Court has officially approved the sale of the city’s Bikur Cholim Hospital to Russian Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak for $32 million. Gaydamak had almost lost the deal when shopping mall mogul Lev Leviav out-bid him. Gaydamak was awarded the deal anyways, since Leviav planned to transform the aging hospital into a real estate project, & Gaydamak has promised to upgrade & modernize the hospital by pumping major funds into the hospital. As YW had reported (HERE) Gaydamak met with the Gavad Yerushalayim Rav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss Shlita, and promised him the hospital would be operated in accordance with Halacha and top-of-the-line technology.

Russian Billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak has reportedly donated NIS 1 million to repair the Bais Hakvaros in Sderot, which was recently damaged after being hit by Kassam rockets. (Ynet)

Russian Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak has reportedly won the tender for the Bikur Cholim Hospital in the heart of Yerushalayim – by paying $32 million. Gaydamak had almost lost the deal when shopping mall mogul Lev Leviav out-bid him. Gaydamak was awarded the deal anyways, since Leviav planned to transform the aging hospital into a real estate project, & Gaydamak has promised to upgrade & modernize the hospital by pumping major funds into the hospital. According to Arutz 7, Gaydamak met with the Gavad Yerushalayim Rav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss Shlita, and promised him the hospital would be operated in accordance with Halacha and top-of-the-line technology.

The Haaretz News Agency is now reporting that Russian/Israeli billionare Arkady Gaydamak is not going to buy the controlling interest in the Tiv-Taam supermarket chain, as was reported HERE on YW. He is however going to buy a 10% stake in Enter Holdings, controlled by Amit Berger, for NIS 30 million. Sources near the deal claim that the main reason Gaydamak changed his mind about buying the non-kosher chain was that the deal is more complicated than he originally thought, and he realized he wouldn’t be able to realize his dream, of transforming it into a kosher chain that would appeal to everybody. (Haaretz)

Russian – Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak has purchased 51% of a supermarket store chain in Israel called Tiv Taam for $100 Million. But more interestingly then the actual purchase is his plans for the stores. His immediate plans are to stop selling any non-Kosher meats and forbid any of the stores to be open on Shabbos. In an interview with Yediot Achronot newspaper he stated “In my view, as a Jew and as a public figure in Jewish society, the promotion, distribution and sale of pork products in Israel offends the Jewish tradition. Therefore, my first order of business will be to ban the distribution and sale of pork products.” Tiv Taam currently has 23 stores, and was originally opened in 1990 to specifically sell pork and other imported non-Kosher products.

Russian-Israeli billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak has been evacuating many families from the city of Sderot. Included in those families are 50 Chareidi families who have been placed into Mehadrin hotels. Yisroel Goldshmidt, who is one of Gaydamak’s close aids, told Ladaat News that “in the previous evacuation we did not know there were Chareidi religious families in Sderot.”

Russian/Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak has dispatched eight buses to the city of Sderot to help evacuate those who wish to leave the city. Mr. Gaydamak was responding to calls for help from tramautized residents. In the past, he has helped ease the tension of the residents of Sderot by taking hundreds on free vacations to Eilat.

With no source of revenue in sight for the near future, Health Ministry officials are already beginning to prepare for a number of scenarios regarding Jerusalem’s ailing Bikur Cholim Hospital, including the closure of the pediatric and other wards that a major financial drains, or even the possibility of the total closure of the hospital, the only one located in the heart of the downtown area. Is a buyer is not found really soon, someone capable and willing to infuse large sums of cash as Arkadi Gaydamak did, then the ministry will be compelled to implement one of the plans, possible the closure of the hospital. What is making things increasingly complicated is the fact that Deputy Minister of Health (Yahadut HaTorah) Yaakov Litzman does not recognize the authority of hospital’s chairman, Dudi Zilbershlag, since he did not receive official notification from Arkadi Gaydamak that Zilbershlag is authorized to represent the medical institution. This is preventing Zilbershlag for accomplishing anything significant with the ministry as he continues efforts to prevent the closure of the hospital. Zilbershlag is not taking the matter lying down, explaining he was never Gaydamak’s subordinate, explaining the board was around long before the Russian-born billionaire bought the hospital and it remains now that Gaydamak left Israel. A ministry official explained he hopes a decision is reached before employees no longer receive their salaries, adding a plan already exists for the transfer of the patients to other facilities. Another option is reducing or closing the departments that operate in the red, losing money, a move that requires Litzman’s approval. Departments that may close include pediatrics, ENT, surgery and internal medicine. These departments represent about one-third of the hospital. In the meantime, a number of senior physicians and other medical staff have left in recent months, prompting the ministry to inspect to ensure the standard of care has not fallen below acceptable norms. It appears the hospital is operating on an acceptable standard, at least for now, with reports indicating there are ample supplies, including pharmaceuticals and other necessary equipment. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

The Histadrut national labor federation is warning a ‘work dispute’ is on the horizon. Officials at Jerusalem’s Bikur Cholim Hospital admit that since Arkadi Gaydamak ceased infusing funds into the hospital, employee rights’ have been compromised. The hospital administration is preparing to implement its fiscal rehabilitation plan which will result in 70 firings and a salary reduction of 20% for most employees. The labor union explains the hospital has already taken unilateral steps in February, cutting wages 15% for the month and stopping to make pension payments, signaling it will tolerate additional compromise of employee rights. The hospital which employees 650 workers was in receivership until Gaydamak came along. Following the loss of his mayoral bid in Jerusalem and legal worries in Europe, Gaydamak has fled for Russia and announced he is forfeiting his citizenship. He has also stopped infusing capital into the hospital, leaving the bleak situation and threatened closure. YWN reported earlier in the month that Rav Chaim Miller is working to prevent the closure of the hospital, which plays a vital role in the capital’s chareidi community. Attorney Shai Teken of the Histradurt’s professional union calls the rehab plan “amateurish” and “lacking vision”. He adds the plan lacks provisions for future employment of workers of even the future of the hospital. Workers will convene on Tuesday together with senior district officials of the labor union to discuss the hospital’s situation, plan and the workers’ plight. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Former Jerusalem deputy mayor and noted askan R’ Chaim Miller is working to save Bikur Cholim Hospital amid reports the ailing medical organization is on the verge of collapse. R’ Miller also heads the Movement for Jerusalem and its Residents, compelling him to contact Premier-designate Binyamin Netanyahu. Miller explained he has seen the protocol (minutes) of the last meeting of the hospital’s directors, pointing to the extremely bleak financial situation which was caused by the hospital’s owner, Arkadi Gaydamak leaving Israel, apparently divesting of his interests which include the hospital. Miller explained to Netanyahu that talk of the closure of Bikur Cholim is unacceptable, stating the closure would leave the center of the capital without a hospital; further stressing Bikur Cholim plays a vital role in providing medical care to the chareidi community. He stated that if the hospital is closed, a sick person from one of the adjoining neighborhoods would be compelled to make his way to Hadassah or Shaare Zedek Hospitals. During heavy traffic times of the day, which today exists most of the day due to light railway construction, those seeking medical care would be significantly delayed as a result of Bikur Cholim’s closure. Miller states he plans to take on the fight to keep Bikur Cholim open and his organization with spearhead a battle, calling on Jerusalem city councilmen to join in towards preventing the closure of one of the city’s hospitals. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Jerusalem’s veteran Bikur Cholim Hospital has known hard times, but none like the present, threatening to close its doors in the coming weeks. This would result in the firing of hundreds of employees. It appears at the heart of the current crisis is the fact that the hospital’s new owner, billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak has stopped infusing funds into the hospital. Gaydamak is reported to be in Russia and he was unavailable for comment. Officials report that Gaydamak, who recently lost a Jerusalem mayoral bid, has been trying to sell the hospital for a number of months, but he has not found a buyer. According to reports, in part of his bid to avoid imprisonment in France in connection to an illegal weapons sales case, Gaydamak is giving up his Israeli citizenship and it appears he will be divesting of interests in Israel. According to one of the hospital’s major operators, Dudi Zilbershlag, Bikur Cholim truly faces the possibility of closing its doors. He adds that he hopes the proposed fiscal rehabilitation plan will be accepted, for if not, 1,000 people will be without jobs and a hospital that has been operating in Yerushalayim for many years will cease to exist. The hospital staff is comprised of 650 employees, with an additional 300 coming from manpower agencies. The hospital was already in receivership when Gaydamak appeared on the scene about a year ago, buying the facility for NIS 136 million. He infused NIS 32 million for pension funds, and was putting in about NIS 2 million monthly to keep the medical facility operational. A number of weeks ago, when the situation became grave, Zilbershlag presented Histadrut national labor federation leaders with a fiscal rehabilitation plan, which includes a 15% cut in all salaries and the dismissal of several dozen employees. The labor federation rejected the plan, calling for a revised version which does not include dismissals. Realizing the desperate situation, hospital administration on Monday issued an across-the-board 15% salary cut for all employees earning over NIS 5,000 a month. Those in the loop do not believe the labor federation will approve the plan. Officials at this stage believe the hospital’s closure is inevitable. The Meuchedet Kupat Cholim HMO has made an offer of NIS 70 million for the hospital, but this too appears unlikely since experts do not believe the health ministry and other agencies will permit the healthcare provider to operate the hospital. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

(The following article appears in this weeks American Yated) Yerushalmis went to the polls Tuesday to elect a new mayor, and chose between a man on trial in France for arms trafficking and money laundering, a self-made millionaire who wants to build thousands of Jewish homes in the heart of an Arab neighborhood, and the scion of a renowned Agudah family supported by the vast majority of the Chareidi community. The son of veteran Agudah leader, Menachem Porush, the seventh-generation Yerushalmi Meir Porush serves as a member of the Knesset and was formerly deputy housing minister. His candidacy was endorsed by all leading rabbonim, roshei yeshiva and Chassidic rabbeim, except for Ger. He began his political career when he was positioned by his father as a Yerushalayim city councilman. He is responsible for building thousands of homes in settlements in the West Bank and promised to bring 100,000 young people to Yerushalayim and offer affordable housing. He had thought that his efforts to bolster settlements would earn him the votes of Yerushalayim’s religious Zionists and put him over the top. The assumption was that the religious Zionists would join the great majority of Chareidim in voting for him and provide the plurality needed to beat back the secular candidate, Nir Barkat. But that was not to be. Regrettably, the religious community will no longer have their own man in the mayor’s chair in Yerushalayim’s City Hall. Polls had forecasted that current Mayor Uri Lupolianski, a member of Degel Hatorah, would be able to coast to an easy victory had he run, based upon his performance during his term as mayor and his ability to serve the disparate group that comprise the populace of Yerushalayim. He is much respected for the Yad Sarah organization which he founded and heads. Yad Sarah services all residents of Israel, providing medical assistance with care and devotion and regardless of one’s religious beliefs. However, due to a rotation agreement signed prior to the election of Lupoliansky, this year it was the turn of Agudas Yisroel to field a Chareidi candidate. Porush won that nod, despite polls that demonstrated that he could not win. An attempt by Aryeh Deri, formerly of Shas, to run in the election and capitalize on the fear that fielding only Porush would lead to the loss of a religious mayor of the Holy City was defeated by the courts. Deri was prevented from running due to a guilty verdict against him for crimes of moral turpitude several years ago. When Deri failed in his appeal to the court to permit his candidacy, the Chareidi community coalesced in their support behind Porush, with every Chareidi leader and group, including Lubavitch, offering him their support, except for the Gerrer Rebbe and his followers who waged a bitter campaign against him. In an attempt to win over secular voters, he pleaded with voters to “Judge me by my past successes, as minister of housing and of deputy mayor of the city, not by my beard,” he said. “So what if I have a long beard – what does that mean? That I’m not qualified?” Barkat won the race by playing on the fears of secular residents that Porush would not govern as Lupoliansky, and would make their living in Yerushalayim untenable. The intercine Chareidi

(VICTORY SPEECH IN EXTENDED ARTICLE) 3:15AM IL: It is not yet official but the chareidi community of Yerushalayim is already aware that the mayoral election has gone to the opponent, Nir Barkat, who for the past five years occupied an opposition seat in 1 Safra Square, Jerusalem City Hall. If one word was needed to describe the loss – it would have to be “disunity”. The mainstream media is already reporting “due to conflict with Gerrer Chassidim, the race went to Barkat”. Final numbers will not be available for sometime, but the Porush for Mayor campaign is beginning to understand that the unwillingness of the frum community to unite around Meir Porush has taken its toll. In the Chen Hotel in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of the capital, Barkat for Mayor supporters are beginning to celebrate, realizing the numbers are not final but they do understand that with 264 of 707 polling stations counted, a victory is all but certain. While it is not a majority of stations, statisticians report enough of the votes have been counted to determine Barkat is the victor. Barkat made a statement moments ago, promising to “lead Jerusalem to the place it needs to go”. Elsewhere in the municipal elections: a. Shas leader Eli Yishai applauded his party’s success, taking the election in four key areas. Shas now stands at the helm of Bet Shemesh, Rechasim, Emanuel, and Elad. b. Toldos Aaron officials in Bet Shemesh report that information that chassidim voted in the municipal election is untrue. c. Voter turnout in Arab municipalities about 75%. d. With 75% of votes counted in the Tel Aviv race, incumbent Ron Huldai leads by 10%. e. Beersheva’s incumbent Yaakov Turner, who has served for 10 years, has been unseated. f. In Sderot, David Buskila has taken the race. g. In Kfar Saba, it appears the incumbent remains in office. h. A runoff election appears likely in Ashkelon as the candidates failed to pass the 40% minimum required to declare victory. i. Lasri leads by 7% in Ashdod. UPDATE 3:58AM IL: At about 3:40am, Nir Barkat decided to make his victory address. Ministry of Interior officials report Barkat earned 53% of the vote against Meir Porush’s 37%. Reshet Bet Radio reports that Gerrer Chassidim gave their votes to Barkat due to the conflict with Porush, giving him the race. Chareidi analysts earlier in the night stated that if Porush loses, it will not be because of the secular vote, but because of the frum vote that went to the opposition. Barkat made his victory address moments ago from his campaign headquarters in the Chen Hotel in Bayit Vegan, which some say is ironic since it too is a predominately frum area of the capital. Barkat’s Remarks as transcribed by the YWN Israel News Bureau: “Sehechiyanu V’Higiyanu” that we arrived at this moment. Tonight, Jerusalem Won! Tonight, Israel won! Tonight, the Jewish People won! Tonight, we proved there is someone who protects and takes care of Jerusalem, its values, and residents… My dear family and supporters, I am proud and emotional that I stand here tonight to speak with you, here in Jerusalem, the City of King David, not far from the burial site of IDF soldiers (Mt. Herzl) and the leaders of our nation, as well as the place where we remember the Holocaust (Yad Vashem)…