Jerusalem fire chief suspended over attempting to run a brothel

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has temporarily suspended the municipal fire chief, Moshe Suissa, after police recommended to the State Prosecutor's Office that Suissa be charged with attempting to run a brothel, employing firefighters in private renovation work, taking bribes, fraudulent receiving and obstruction of justice. Following a hearing Barkat held for Suissa, the mayor suspended him until the end of January.

In a letter to Suissa, Barkat wrote that during the fire chief's 33 years with the service, he had shown "courage in saving lives," and that "your devotion is not in doubt and is very much appreciated. Personally, I have seen you command rescue operations during terror attacks. However, unfortunately, this is not the question when it comes to a decision on suspension of a city employee, especially a senior one." Barkat also wrote, "I intend to expedite the process to shorten the suffering caused you and the city on all possible levels."

Meanwhile, at a police seminar on Sunday, figures were presented showing that over the past seven years, 120 suspects in trafficking in women in Israel have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms of two to 15 years. Some have been required to compensate their victims. Police say some 25 cases of suspected trafficking in women have been investigated since the law against trafficking was passed in 2001.

The seminar was sponsored by Lahav 433, the police unit charged with fighting organized crime, and focused on intelligence-gathering methods.