Shlomo Lahiani ( he, שלמה לחיאני, born May 22, 1965) is a business owner and former

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 ...

i politician. He was formerly mayor of

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( he, בַּת יָם or ) is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In 2020, it had a population ...

. In 2014, following an investigation, Lahiani pleaded guilty to three counts of breach of public trust.

Biography

Shlomo Lahiani was born in Israel. His father was an immigrant from

Bengazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Political career

In 1997, he founded the independent political movement

BeRosh Muram ( he, בת ים בראש מורם, "Bat Yam with its head held high"). In 1998, the movement won five seats on the Bat Yam city council. He served as a city council member and leader of the opposition from 1998 until 2003, when he became mayor. he was first elected mayor as a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

-backed independent in 2003 with 45% of the vote, beating the

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 ...

candidate. He was subsequently re-elected, with 86.3% of the vote, reportedly the highest ever in a large Israeli city, in 2008.

Public activism

In 2000, he founded Ohavim, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

with the goal of improving welfare and child care, and managing soup kitchens in the city.

Controversy

In December 2009, Lahiani was arrested on charges of fraud, breach of trust, embezzlement and following a two-year undercover investigation. Lahiani was indicted in April 2013 with breach of trust. In a plea bargain reached in 2014, Lahiani pleaded guilty to three reduced charges of breach of trust. On September 30, 2014, he was given six months of community service, as well as a six-month suspended sentence and a 250,000-shekel (US$67,840) fine, and barred from politics for seven years. He admitted to using money from the bribes to pay debts of his construction company, Alshav.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahiani, Shlomo 1965 births Living people Israeli government officials convicted of crimes Israeli people convicted of bribery Israeli people of Libyan-Jewish descent Israeli politicians convicted of corruption Jewish Israeli politicians Kadima politicians Mayors of places in Israel People from Bat Yam Israeli politicians convicted of crimes