VOA标准英语2008年-Olmert Vows Not to Resign Over Corruption Scand

The noose¹ may be tightening² around Israel's embattled prime minister in a corruption³ scandal, but he is pressing on. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is brushing off demands to resign after an American Jewish businessman said he gave him envelopes stuffed with cash to support a lavish⁴ lifestyle. Prosecutors⁵ suspect money laundering⁶ and bribery⁷; but Mr. Olmert said he is innocent until proven guilty, and like other scandals that have dogged him, nothing would come of it.

Mr. Olmert's grip on power was put in doubt on Wednesday, when his defense⁸ minister, Ehud Barak, demanded that he step down over the corruption allegations. Barak threatened to pull his Labor⁹ Party out of the coalition¹⁰ government and force early elections if the Prime Minister does not comply.

But while Mr. Olmert may be down he is not out, says Jerusalem Post editor David Horovitz.

"He is a political fighter, and he is going to fight through this," Horovitz said. "Every day that he staves off the immediate¹¹ threat will be a victory, and knowing Olmert as we do, this is what he is going to try to do."

While the corruption scandal is embarrassing and damaging, it is still not clear whether Mr. Olmert broke the law.

 "We have to think about first of all, 'Is it a criminal offense¹², is it against the law on the books or is it not?' And [despite] the circus we've seen in the media, it's a little early to indict¹³ him," attorney Haim Katz said.

Mr. Olmert says that if indicted¹⁴ he will resign. But a possible indictment¹⁵ is still months away, and until then, the Prime Minister appears determined¹⁶ to hang on to his job.