David Appel (; born 7 August 1950) is an Israeli businessman,

general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), 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 c ...

, and

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

party activist.

Early life and education

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

Magdiel Magdiel () is one of the four original communities of Jewish farmers who combined in 1964 to form Hod Hasharon, Israel. It was founded in 1924 and according to a 1931 census of Palestine, census conducted in 1931 by the Mandatory Palestine, Britis ...

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

Career

In 1975 he opened a baby products store in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, 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 (, ''Ha-Yo'etz Ha-Mishpati La-Memshala'', ) heads the legal system of the executive branch and the public prosecution of the state. The attorney general advises the government in legal matters, represents the stat ...

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 The Central District (, ''Meḥoz haMerkaz''; ) of Israel is one of six administrative districts, including most of the Sharon region. It is further divided into four sub-districts: Petah Tikva, Ramla, Sharon, and Rehovot. The district's large ...

, especially

Lod Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

and

Giv'at Shmuel Giv'at Shmuel () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Center District of Israel. It is located in the eastern part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area and bordered by Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak to the West, Kiryat Ono to the South and P ...

. 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; ; ) was an Israeli government authority responsible for managing land in Israel which is in the public domain. It manages 93% of the land in the country. As a result of reforms enacted by the 2009 government, ...

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 corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

Israeli prime minister The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a president as the head of state. The presiden ...

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

, in what became known as the Greek Island Affair, and was also charged with five other bribe offenses. Attorney General

Menachem Mazuz Menachem "Meni" Mazuz (; born April 30, 1955) is an Israeli jurist and Supreme Court justice, who served as the Israeli Attorney General in the years 2004–2010. Childhood and studies Mazuz was born in Djerba, Tunisia, the fifth in a family ...

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appel, David 1950 births Living people Israeli people convicted of bribery Israeli Jews Israeli businesspeople