Trial of Former Israeli Leader Begins

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JERUSALEM — Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister of Israel, appeared in court here on Friday for the opening of his trial on charges of corruption, a spectacle that could mark a new low in the annals of Israeli public life.

Mr. Olmert was indicted on three counts of corruption in late August after a lengthy investigation that forced him to resign last fall. The accusations include fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and failing to report income.

The allegations relate to the years when he served as mayor of Jerusalem and as a senior cabinet minister before he became prime minister in 2006. If convicted, he could face prison, although prosecutors have not specified what penalty they will seek.

Mr. Olmert, who has always denied wrongdoing, is accused, among other things, of having illicitly received more than $600,000, some of it stuffed in envelopes, from Morris Talansky, a Long Island businessman, from 1997 to 2005.

As he entered court, Mr. Olmert, who practiced law before entering public office, told reporters, “I come here as a man innocent of any crime, and I believe I will leave here as a man innocent of any crime.”

He added that for three years he had been subject to “an almost inhumane campaign of defamation and inquiries.”

Now, he said, it was time for the court to deal with “facts, and facts alone.”

The trial, which could end any chance of a political comeback for Mr. Olmert, 63, began with a session on Friday that dealt mainly with procedural issues.

Mr. Olmert acknowledged that he had read and understood the indictment. Mr. Olmert and his legal team are scheduled to reply to the charges in December, and the court will start hearing testimony in February.

The charges against Mr. Olmert stem primarily from three episodes that unfolded over the last two years.

The beginning of his political demise came when Mr. Talansky, 76, a resident of Woodsburgh in New York’s Nassau County, testified here in May 2008 about the huge sums of cash he had transferred to Mr. Olmert. According to Mr. Talansky, much of the money was for election campaigns, but some was for Mr. Olmert’s personal use.

Prosecutors accuse Mr. Olmert of hiding the money and failing to report it to the authorities. Though Mr. Olmert has not been charged explicitly with taking bribes in the Talansky case, he is accused of abusing his position as a government minister to promote Mr. Talansky’s private business interests in Israel and abroad, a major conflict of interest.

Mr. Olmert is also charged with fraudulently billing multiple entities, including state agencies and charities, for trips abroad during his time in government, and with using the credit he allegedly amassed to finance private and family travel.

In a third charge, Mr. Olmert is accused of promoting the interests of the clients of a longtime associate and former law partner, Uri Messer, while Mr. Olmert served as the minister of industry and trade.

Mr. Olmert is also charged with failing to report money that he received from other sources to the state comptroller, as he was required to do as a minister. Shula Zaken, Mr. Olmert’s confidante and former office manager, who is also under indictment in connection with various counts of fraud, appeared alongside him in court.

Mr. Olmert, who had led the centrist Kadima Party, formally resigned under intense public and political pressure a year ago. In his last months in office, he devoted himself to trying to reach a peace accord with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. The efforts were doomed, analysts said, partly because of Mr. Olmert’s lost credibility in the eyes of the Israeli public.

In an interview with the BBC this week, Mr. Olmert said that he had gone further than any other Israeli leader to try to clinch an agreement.

He said that he proposed giving the Palestinians 94 percent of the West Bank, giving them control of Arab areas of East Jerusalem and allowing a symbolic return of some Palestinian refugees on humanitarian grounds.