Israeli Cabinet minister convicted in fund conduct

April 20, 1982

Israeli Welfare Minister Aharon Abuhatzeira was convicted of fraud, larceny, and breach of trust after a judge said he ran a public fund like a private estate. Other members of the government coalition and the opposition immediately demanded Mr. Abuhatzeira resign from the Knesset (parliament), but government sources said the conviction was unlikely to threaten Prime Minister Menachem Begin's government and its slim one-vote majority in the 120-member Knesset. Mr. Abuhatzeira faces up to seven years' imprisonment.