Katsav will not enjoy presidential perks after his release from jail
The former president, who was jailed for five years and indicted for rape, will not enjoy the same benefits past presidents did.
By GIL HOFFMANUpdated: DECEMBER 22, 2016 04:08Former president of Israel Moshe Katsav(photo credit: REUTERS)
Former president Moshe Katsav will not receive key perks given to former presidents, Tehila Shwartz-Altshuler, director of the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute, said on Wednesday night.Due to a decision by the Knesset Finance Committee, Katsav will not receive an office, secretary, expenses for his residence, a car and driver, a daily newspaper or a cellular phone with unlimited calls.Because he was convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, the committee decided that he will not receive such perks.The committee also decided in 2006 that former presidents and prime ministers, in general, would no longer receive such benefits for the rest of their lives. But Katsav was exempt from that decision because he was grandfathered in by the previous law.Whether he will receive a bodyguard depends on the Shin Bet’s (Israel Security Agency) judgment as to whether he is in danger.He will, however, receive the same pension as if he had never been convicted of any crime.As for calls among some Kiryat Malachi residents that he try to return to his former post as mayor, his parole conditions do not permit him to be in charge of any women.