Israeli law provides a sentence of 4 to 20 years for rape.
Qatsav’s attorneys asked that his record of public be considered in setting a sentence. But the court said that, to the contrary, Qatsav had exploited his position to become a sexual predator.
In a scathing ruling, the court called Qatsav “manipulative” and said his testimony was riddled with lies.
The judges also ordered Qatsav to pay compensation of 100,000 shekels ($28,000) to the main victim, known only as “Aleph,” as well as 25,000 shekels ($7,000) to the second victim.
“This is a victory for lies!” shouted Qatsav, 65, as the sentence was read out by presiding Judge George Kara. Then the former president broke down in tears.
Qatsav was convicted in December of rape, sexual harassment, indecent acts and obstruction of justice after an 18-month trial, which included harrowing and salacious accusations that simultaneously stunned and fascinated all of Israel.
The court granted Qatsav 45 days to set his affairs in order before he begins his sentence May 8. His lawyers said he would appeal.
The sentence was hailed by women’s campaigners as a “great achievement.” Israel has long had a reputation as a very macho country in which men could pretty much have their way with women. The Qatsav case was widely seen as a major social shift with Israeli society adopting Western norms.
Qatsav had repeatedly accused prosecutors of pursuing him because he was not a member of the establishment European Jewry, but an immigrant from the Middle East, who in past decades had been treated as second-class citizens.
Qatsav was born in Yazd and came to Israel with his parents when he was six. He was elected mayor of his town, a settlement of Middle Eastern Jews, when he was just 24. The Likud party soon promoted him rapidly as it pursued the votes of Middle Eastern immigrants and wanted such Jews in visible positions.
The seven-year sentence was set by two of the three judges, with the third, a woman, saying a jail term of 4 1/2 years would have been sufficient.
But Judge Kara said, “The crime of rape harms and desecrates a person’s honor, humiliates them, represses the spirit and damages the soul. The severity of the crime of rape was further reinforced because it was carried out through the exploitation of his position of authority.
“The defendant committed the crime and, like every other person, he must bear the consequences. No man is above the law,” he said, according to an official transcript. “The accused is not a victim but the victimizer.”
“Aleph,” the main victim later said she was satisfied with the outcome of the trial. She did not attend the court session. “Personally I was not looking for vengeance and the severity of the sentence was not important to me. The main thing for me was the verdict [last December], that the court unanimously believed me and gave me justice, even if it was delayed,” she told reporters.
“I just want to get back to my life, to my family and my anonymity,” she said.
As Qatsav left the court, the former president was besieged. “Rapist, go to prison!” screamed one woman as he was bundled into a waiting car, with scuffles breaking out between reporters and his family.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said it was “a day of sadness and shame” for Israel but also “a day of pride” for the country’s justice system.
“The court issued a sharp and unequivocal ruling on a simple principle, that of equality before the law,” he said.
“Nobody is above the law, not even a former president,” he said, noting that the ruling had implications for equality between men and women.
Qatsav was convicted of twice raping “Aleph” during his term as tourism minister, and sexually assaulting and harassing two other women while he was president.
He was forced to resign as president in June 2007, two weeks before his term would have ended. The largely-ceremonial office then went to former rival Shimon Peres.
During the trial, Qatsav said he was the victim of a “lynching” by prosecutors and the media and accused his victims of trying to blackmail him.
He was earlier given an opportunity by prosecutors to agree to a plea bargain that would have saved him from any prison time, but he rejected that.