Acquitted of two corruption charges, Ehud Olmert leapt agilely Tuesday, July 10 from the pit of disgrace into the political limelight. He is apparently preparing for the role of great unifier of the left-of-center opposition, shaping a new bloc from disparate groupings and disaffected security and military chiefs to potentially hammer Binyamin Netanyahu’s ruling right-of-center coalition.
That coalition too faces change: Before going on trial next month, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has chosen Yair Shamir to succeed him as Israel Beitenu leader.

Israeli police want to question at least two prominent Israelis, some traveling overseas, on bribery and corruption charges in the Jerusalem Holyland real estate case, after arresting the lawyer Uri Messer, a longtime partner of Ehud Olmert, ex-prime minister and former Jerusalem mayor, Wednesday, April 7.  Notwithstanding the court gag order, the revelations spilling out about the lead characters involved bespeak financial corruption on an unprecedented scale whose ramifications intrude on national politics.