The Haifa District Court on Monday convicted Mazid Hamdan of bribery for paying illicit funds to Ze’ev Dolinsky, senior personal advisor to former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Hamdan was convicted pursuant to a plea agreement after admitting to the offenses outlined in an amended indictment.
2+According to the indictment, Hamdan operated as an intermediary advancing the private interests of individuals before public regulatory bodies, frequently in exchange for payment. He capitalized on his long-standing personal relationship with Dolinsky, which began with their shared political activities within the Likud party, to advance his own financial interests and those of his paying clients.
Between 2018 and 2020, Hamdan transferred at least NIS 6,000 in bribe money to Dolinsky in return for the senior advisor’s intervention in bureaucratic matters across state ministries and public agencies. The requests encompassed planning and zoning permits, commercial licenses, entry visas to Israel, and discretionary medical approvals. The prosecution noted that Dolinsky routinely leveraged his high-profile public standing and administrative contacts to expedite these files.
2+Another core facet of the case involved illicit attempts to influence official appeals regarding Ministry of Health professional accreditation exams. According to court records, Hamdan conspired with co-defendant Marwan Ryan to bribe Dolinsky into pushing appeals on behalf of two Ryan family members who had failed state medical licensing examinations.
Following Hamdan’s confession, Judge Mohammad Ali convicted him of multiple counts of bribery. Under the terms of the signed plea agreement, the prosecution and defense will jointly petition the court to sentence Hamdan to six and a half months in prison, to be converted to community service, along with a suspended sentence and a court-determined fine.
2+Earlier this year, another co-defendant in the wide-ranging corruption probe—Nissim Cohen, who served as parliamentary aide to former Knesset Member Yitzhak Vaknin—was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, probation, and a fine after pleading guilty to multiple counts of accepting bribes and money laundering. Following an appeal to the Supreme Court, Cohen’s prison term was reduced to 22 months. Legal proceedings against Dolinsky and the remaining defendants continue.