Shlomo Lahiani

Shlomo Lahiani (Hebrew: שלמה לחיאני‎, born May 22, 1965) is a business owner and former Israeli politician. He was formerly mayor of Bat Yam. In 2014, following a corruption investigation, Lahiani pled guilty to three counts of breach of public trust and accepting at least NIS700,000 in bribes.

Early life

Lahiani was born in 1965 in Israel. His parents were immigrants from Bengazi, Libya.

Career

In 1997, he founded the independent political movement Bat Yam BeRosh Muram. In 1998, the movement won five seats on the Bat Yam city council. He served as a city council member and leader of the opposition from 1998 until 2003, when he became mayor.

"Despite having been indicted and previously fired by the High Court of Justice," he was first elected mayor as a Labour-backed independent in 2003 with 45% of the vote, beating the Likud candidate. He was subsequently re-elected, with 86.3% of the vote, reportedly the highest ever in a large Israeli city, in 2008. In 2000, he founded Ohavim, a non-profit organization with the goal of improving welfare and child care, and managing soup kitchens in the city.