, native_name_lang = Hebrew , pronunciation = , birth_name = , birth_date = , birth_place =

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, nationality = Israeli , other_names = , siglum = , citizenship = , education = , alma_mater = , occupation = Businessman , years_active = , era = , employer = , organization = , agent = , known_for = , notable_works = , title = , term = , predecessor = , successor = , party =

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

party , otherparty = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , criminal_charges = Bribing Israeli politician

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

in the

Greek Island Affair The Greek island affair ( he, פרשת האי היווני, translit=Parashat HaEe HaYevani) was an Israeli political scandal involving David Appel, Ariel Sharon, at the time a minister in the Likud party, and others close to Sharon. The scandal ...

, criminal_penalty = 3.5 years in prison , criminal_status = , spouse = , partner = , children = , parents = , mother = , father = , relatives = , family = , awards = , website = , footnotes = David Appel ( he, דוד אפל, born 7 August 1950) is an Israeli businessman,

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

, and

party activist.

Early life and education

Appel was raised by his grandparents, and educated in an ORT technical dormitory school in

Magdiel Magdiel ( he, מגדיאל) is one of the four original communities of Jewish agriculturalists that combined in 1964 to form Hod Hasharon, Israel. It was founded in 1924 and according to a census conducted in 1931 by the British Mandate authoriti ...

, where he studied printing. He was not drafted into the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

due to an injury sustained when printing machinery fell on his hand. At age 20 he joined the Likud youth organisation, where he formed lifelong friendships with many people who would later become influential

Israeli politicians Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

Career

In 1975 he opened a baby products store in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, which eventually became a national chain. He was also a partner in the Gazan UP-7 company. In 1977 he sold his chain and opened a general contracting firm with partner ''Shalom Prussak'', which became state-recognised within three years and ultimately built thousands of housing units, many of them under contract for the Israeli Housing Ministry.

Corruption charges

The

Attorney General of Israel The attorney general of Israel ( he, היועץ המשפטי לממשלה, ''Ha-Yo'etz Ha-Mishpati La-Memshala'', lit. ''Legal Advisor to the Government'') heads the legal system of the executive branch and the public prosecution of the state. ...

ruled that between 1983 and 1986, Appel's contracting company had operated in a manner violating the law, and only 13 years later in 1997 he was cleared of all charges. In 2003 the State again brought charges against Appel, this time dealing with four separate cases of bribery and dishonest business practices. The indictment charged that he had promised civil servants reelection in exchange for approving his projects in Central Israel, especially

Lod Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...

and

Giv'at Shmuel Giv'at Shmuel ( he, גִּבְעַת שְׁמוּאֵל, , Samuel's Hill) is a city in the Center District of Israel. It is located in the eastern part of the Gush Dan Metropolitan Area and bordered by Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak to the West, Kiryat ...

. Among those accused of accepting bribes were former MK Nehama Ronen, then director of the Environment Ministry,

Israel Land Administration The Israel Land Administration (ILA; he, מנהל מקרקעי ישראל, Minhal Mekarka'ei Yisra'el; ar, مديرية أراضي اسرائيل) is an Israeli government authority responsible for managing land in Israel which is in the public d ...

official Oded Tal, Lod mayor Benny Regev, and Giv'at Shmuel council head Zamir ben Ari. In 2004 he was charged with

bribing Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

Israeli prime minister The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

, in what became known as the

, and was also charged with five other bribe offenses. Attorney General

Menachem Mazuz Menachem "Meni" Mazuz ( he, מְנַחֵם "מֶנִי" מָזוּז; born April 30, 1955) is an Israeli jurist and Supreme Court of Israel, Supreme Court justice, who served as the Attorney General of Israel, Israeli Attorney General in the years ...

eventually ruled that Sharon could not be charged with receiving bribes from Appel. As of September 2008 all but one bribery charge against Appel had been dropped. In 2010 he was convicted of bribery and was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. The accusation involved a bribe to Sharon to help win approval for a development in Greece."5 corruption scandals that rocked Israel"
CNN, 01-08-2017 He also started bankruptcy proceedings. He submitted a bid to return to an active role in the Migdal Hazohar urban renewal project in the Giora neighborhood of Givat Schmuel in May 2016, which was two years after he finished his prison term in 2014."David Appel wants to lead project that landed him in jail"
Globes, 05-05-2016

References

Living people 1950 births Israeli Jews Israeli businesspeople {{Israel-business-bio-stub