Ariel Schalit / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks to the press at the District Court in Jerusalem on Tuesday after being found guilty on one count of corruption and acquitted on two other counts.

JERUSALEM - Ehud Olmert was found guilty on Tuesday of a corruption charge in the first criminal trial of a former Israeli prime minister, but acquitted on two other counts in what was widely seen as a significant victory for him.

Although Olmert was convicted of fraud and breach of trust, he was found not guilty on more serious charges that included allegations he received cash bribes from a U.S. businessman and double-billed Israeli charities for overseas fund-raising trips.

Olmert appeared claim and relieved as the verdict was delivered in the Jerusalem court.

It was not clear whether that verdict could send Olmert, 66, to jail. If the crime -- breach of trust -- does carry a prison term, he would become the first Israeli prime minister to serve time.

Olmert was accused of taking some $150,000 from the U.S. businessman, pocketing more than $92,000 by double-billing the charities and helping to advance the business interests of a long-time friend.

He denied any wrongdoing. The court convicted him only in connection with aiding his friend while serving as minister of trade and industry before becoming prime minister in 2006.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper described the verdict on its website as a "crushing defeat" for the prosecution. The popular Ynet news site, called the outcome a "legal earthquake," confounding widespread expectations of a triple conviction.

The former prime minister is also battling, in a separate case, charges over the construction of a hulking luxury apartment complex that dominates a Jerusalem hilltop.

Envelopes of cash
The U.S. businessman, Morris Talansky, testified that he gave Olmert envelopes containing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Olmert says the money was used for electioneering, denying he benefited personally in return for advancing the businessman's interests.

The court said prosecutors had failed to prove the payments were illegal.

Olmert resigned as prime minister in September 2008 after the accusations surfaced, saying he wanted to clear his name. But he stayed on as caretaker until March 2009 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was sworn in.

Former Israeli PM Olmert joins chorus criticizing Netanyahu on Iran

Olmert claimed he had achieved significant progress in talks with the Palestinians aimed at securing a final Middle East peace deal, offering an Israeli withdrawal from much of the occupied West Bank.

But no agreement was reached and negotiations held under Netanyahu collapsed in 2010 in a dispute over Israeli settlement building on land Palestinians want for a state.

Prosecutors said millions of dollars in bribes were paid to Olmert, Jerusalem's mayor from 1993 to 2003, and other civil servants to ensure the approval of plans for the Holyland towers. Olmert has denied this.

Corruption trial begins for Israel's ex-leader

Israel has already witnessed a former head of state put behind bars.

Former president Moshe Katsav was convicted last year of raping an aide when he was a cabinet minister in the late 1990s and molesting or sexually harassing two other women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president. He began serving a seven-year prison sentence in December.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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JERUSALEM – It was in August 2011 when the Goldstein family decided it was time to give up what America had to offer and move their life more than 5,500 miles away to Israel.

A special NBC News series: What The World Thinks of U.S. Click here for more information

Aviva and Seth Goldstein left their families and a fantastic life in the Bronx for what is perceived by many as a country torn by war and conflict.

One year after their move you couldn't find a happier and more enthusiastic family in Jerusalem. Aviva's huge and warm smile doesn’t vanish from her face as she juggles a move to a new apartment and raising three girls: Aliana, 7, Tahila, 5, and Liba, 3.

For Aviva and Seth coming to Israel wasn’t about finding a greener pasture somewhere else  –  but as Jews they felt like not coming to the Holy Land was like standing on the sidelines of history. It was always a place that just called to them, where they dreamed of living.

As the Goldstein family lay down a nice picnic spread near the old Jerusalem railway tracks, an area dubbed as the Israeli version of New York City's High Line, I asked Aviva and Seth what America represents for them and what role America has in the world today.

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"The first thing that would come to mind when you think of America is liberty and freedom," Seth said. "I don’t think the U.S. has retreated from that identity and I don't think it lost a piece of that identity. I think it stands for freedom and democracy [now] as much as ever.”

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Aviva and Seth Goldstein with their three daughters in Jerusalem.

"For me," Aviva said, "America is also freedom and liberty. But I think that there is a big piece of America that’s comfort, with liberty and security, and that there is mobility within that.”

'Economic opportunity'
Both Aviva and Seth have had careers in education, but at this point Aviva described herself as a "full time mom," while Seth works at the Shalem Center, a research institute in Jerusalem.  

"I think America stands for economic opportunity as well,” Seth said. "Also for all sorts of religious opportunities, that go hand-in- hand with freedom. It really is a place that you can grow in all sorts of uninhibited ways and be successful in all sorts of remarkable ways.”

How did they think the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan changed America?

"I think it stretched America's finances and it reminded the world that America stands for something more than just isolating itself in a bubble, but that it has a responsibility to the rest of the world," Seth said. "The extent that America was involved in it is a reflection of its sense of responsibility to other nations, to other people, to humanity."

NBC News speaks with citizens from around the globe, asking the question, 'What Does America Mean to You?'

Aviva also believed the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan was a positive thing.  "I think that as Jews, who always had an interest in Israeli world politics, I think it was easier for us to see the evil," said Aviva.  "I think we’re used to being stuck with really bad neighbors,  so on some level it was good that America was involved."

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As for their three girls, Aviva said the move has just caused them all to flourish,  even though they miss their grandparents. "Thank God for iPads," Aviva said. She was referring to the fact they can see and talk to their family back in the U.S. almost for free using the device and the Internet.

"Coming here is the fulfillment of a dream," Aviva explained. "I remember when we were dating 10 years ago, walking the streets of Manhattan fantasying about raising our unborn children in Jerusalem and now it's our reality. It's nothing short of a miracle."

This story is part of a series by msnbc.com and NBC News "What the World Thinks of US". The series aims to check the pulse on current perceptions of America's global stature during the election year and ahead of our annual Independence Day.

Share your thoughts about this story and our series on Twitter using #AmericaMeans 

Stories in the series: 

How I see America, from a former Gitmo prisoner

Bye, bye, GI: Deep impact for many Germans as US troops downsize

Post-revolution Egypt to US: Stay out 

Iran's dentist to the stars offers views on US

For many Pakistanis, 'USA' means 'drones' 

One man's mission: Promote Chinese patriotism in the face of Western onslaught

In South Africa: 'My head says China is number one, my heart says America'

Not all Thais are Gaga about America

Family moves from the Bronx to Jerusalem, but US remains land of 'liberty and freedom'

Palestinian: US supports 'an apartheid system that is suffocating us' 

Afghans are 'no different from any American

Ammar Awad / Reuters

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal leads Easter Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday.

JERUSALEM -- Thousands of Christians gathered in Jerusalem for Easter Sunday to commemorate Jesus Christ's resurrection, crowding into one of Christianity's holiest churches, worshipping, singing and praying.

Catholics and Protestants took in turns to hold ceremonies within the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried.

Inside, clergymen in flowing white and gold robes celebrated Mass, the air thick with incense plumes. Believers swarmed through the winding church — a series of cave-like spaces decked with ornate decorations and stairways leading to galleries and descending into dark, cavernous rooms, joined by a soaring dome roof. Different and often feuding Christian sects control parts of the Sepulcher, heavy with incense, filled with scurrying monks and awed crowds.

Italian Premier Mario Monti, in the church on a private visit, joined the masses of Christian faithful. He shook hands with pilgrims and spoke to monks in the Old City.

Thousands of Palestinian Catholics smashed boiled egg shells against each other, representing Jesus' emerging from his tomb. They ate circular bread symbolizing his crown of thorns. They greeted each other with the Arabic felicitation, "Christ has arisen," prompting the response: "Verily he has arisen."

Lee Jin-Man / AP

A Christian devotee re-enacts Jesus' path to his crucifixion during a performance in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday.

"Jesus promised us salvation and hopefully, we will be worthy of it, because he is truthful of his promise to us," said local priest Marwan Deidis.

Slideshow: Easter celebrations

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Around the world, Christians celebrate the holiest week of the year.

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There are about 110,000 Arab Christians in the Holy land, along with thousands of Christian foreign workers, asylum seekers, and Russian-speaking immigrants. Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims from outside the region also flock to Jerusalem and the Holy Land for Easter rites.

Outside the ancient city's walls, several hundred Protestants gathered in the Garden Tomb, where they believe Jesus was buried. They sat in a sunny, leafy green garden listening to a sermon and sung gospel music.

NY cardinal's stance on gay rights sparks resignation

Meanwhile, thousands of other Christians belonging to Eastern Orthodox churches, who celebrate Easter using a different calendar from their Catholic and Protestant brethren, marked Palm Sunday.

Several dozen Ethiopian Christians who also use the older calendar gathered in a niche of the Sepulcher church, wearing long white robes, decked in white, blue and black rimless hats. They sang in their ancient language, marking off beats with a silver instrument that made a rattling sound.

K.M. Chaudary / AP

Worshippers hold candles during an Easter Mass in a church in Lahore, Pakistan, on Saturday.

In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, dozens of Greek Orthodox Palestinian Christians celebrated Palm Sunday. They gathered into their tiny stone-built church, painted sky-blue and decorated with icons of Jesus, his mother Mary and other saints. Four young men garbed in white and gold robes sung from prayer books, believers lit candles and chanted in Arabic, recording the journey made to Jerusalem, where his followers decked his path with palms and olive branches.

"Jesus went to Jerusalem to call people to peace," said Jaber Abdullah Jindi, a Gazan Christian. "And just as he did, we hope that there will be peace in all the region, especially in Palestine."

Matko Biljak / Reuters

Fishermen dressed as Roman soldiers collapse as they re-enact a scene from the Bible as part of the Easter tradition at a church in Sumartin, Croatia, on Saturday.

In Rome, meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in sun-drenched, flower-adorned St. Peter's Square, before tens of thousands of people.

Benedict looked tired at the start of the Mass at an altar set up on the steps outside St. Peter's Basilica.

He urged the Syrian regime to heed international calls to end bloodshed and commit to dialogue and prayed for peace in coup-struck Mali. As the pope spoke, Syrian troops pounded opposition areas, activists said, killing 74 civilians in an offensive that has sent thousands of refugees surging into Turkey before next week's U.N.-backed ceasefire.

Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI leads the Easter Holy Mass at St Peter's Square on Sunday.

The pontiff also denounced terrorist attacks in Nigeria that have hit Christians and Muslims alike. Citing emergency officials and witnesses, Reuters reported that a roadside car bomb in Nigeria's northern town of Kaduna killed several people on Easter Sunday. The blast occurred after security officers stopped the driver from approaching a church.

The pope struggled with hoarseness throughout the Mass before a crowd of more than 100,000 faithful. Only hours earlier he had led a three-hour nighttime Easter vigil inside St. Peter's Basilica.

At the end of his Easter message, Benedict wished the world a Happy Easter in 65 languages, including Arabic, Hebrew and other languages spoken in the areas in mentioned in his peace appeals.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Palestinian schoolgirls walk past Israeli border policemen standing guard outside a Palestinian house in the center of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Thursday after dozens of Jewish settlers took over the Palestinian property overnight, claiming they have legal ownership.

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian organizers are calling for massive demonstrations on Friday to mark Land Day, an annual event that commemorates the killing of six Arabs who were protesting Israeli land policies on March 30, 1976.

Tens of thousands are expected to participate in what organizers have billed a "Global March to Jerusalem." The plan is to have protesters from neighboring countries march up to the Israeli border to "demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and to protect Jerusalem," according to organizers.

The future status of Jerusalem is at the heart of the Palestinian movement and is the theme for the global Land Day. East Jerusalem is regarded as the likely capital of a future Palestinian state.

For Palestinian farmer, a constant reminder of Israeli occupation

For many Palestinians, Land Day is an annual opportunity to demonstrate that Palestinians inside Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are united and share common goals. 

This year will mark 36 years since Israel’s practice of expropriating Arab land to build Jewish settlements provoked protests by Arab residents in the Galilee and Negev. In addition to the six people who were killed, over 100 wounded during the ensuing violence. Since then Palestinians have commemorated March 30 as Land Day and have turned the day into a general protest against what they see as discriminatory practices by the Israeli government. So it seemed an appropriate date for activists to hold their march. 

Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

An Israeli settler looks out the window of an occupied Palestinian house as an Israeli soldier stands guard in the center of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on March 29, 2012. Dozens of Jewish settlers took over the Palestinian property overnight, claiming they have legal ownership.

"The Global March to Jerusalem represents three things," said Barghouti. "First of all, the unity of the Palestinian people, and their struggle to achieve freedom and end occupation, for Palestinians in and out of Palestine; second, it affirms the centrality of the issues of land and Jerusalem to achieving Palestinian freedom; and third, it provides international solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

'Absolutely peaceful'
The organizers plan to send convoys of vehicles to approach Israel's borders simultaneously from four neighboring countries: Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. According to organizers, more than 600 institutions from 64 states have been involved in planning the march. Protests are also planned outside Israeli embassies in Europe and Arab countries. Organizers say they are hoping for 1 million people to demonstrate in various protests all over the world.

"The event is meant to be a non-violent protest that will include parliament members, citizens and religious figures from all over the world – including Jews, Israelis will also protest with us," Saied Yaqin, one of the march organizers, told NBC News.

Organizers of the march insist the protests will be orderly.

"This march is absolutely peaceful and non-violent, and we will try everything possible to prevent violence," Barghouti said. "Of course, if they use violence against us, the world should protest. But the march is absolutely peaceful and nobody will try to provoke violence."

But Israeli Defense Forces aren’t taking any chances.

A statement released by the IDF said they are "prepared for any eventuality and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israeli borders and residents."

Israel has also issued a stern warning to Arab countries and Palestinians to refrain from approaching the border.

Soldiers along the border have been instructed to be on high alert and they will reportedly have crowd-dispersal means at the ready and will also deploy marksmen. According to a Haaretz report, a so-called "skunk" device is being prepared that sprays a harsh-smelling substance at demonstrators. 

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Paul Goldman / NBC News

Children shoot hoops in Jerusalem as part of the PeacePlayers International program.

By Paul Goldman, NBC News

JERUSALEM -- "Shlomi, throw me the ball."

"Assi, it's your turn, pass and dribble."

"Mahmud, great pass. What a basket."

This might sound like a normal basketball game but it's not. The unique endeavor can be best described as an "oasis of coexistence" in Israel where Jews, Muslims and Christians play not only on the same court but in mixed teams.

In 2001, American brothers Sean and Brendan Tuohey founded PeacePlayers International with the premise that children who play together can learn to live together.

It seemed quite obvious during my visit to practice that the Tuohey brothers were succeeding. Here on the court at the "Hand in Hand" bilingual school in Jerusalem, Israelis and Palestinians were laughing together, hugging each other and, most importantly, shooting the ball together.

"At first the kids and their parents were hesitant with some kids even crying," says Karen Doubilet, who is the PeacePlayers International's Middle East managing director. "But the transition is very fast, now they jump in joy and hug each other when they meet on and off the court."

'They are like me'
After experiencing so much hatred between Israelis and Palestinians, it was refreshing and exciting to see how naturally these kids reacted and played with each other.

Malak Ayub, 12, is a Muslim girl from the East Jerusalem village of Shoafat.

"Before I came to this program I thought Israelis only wanted to do bad things to us but now I see that they are like me, they want to play together," she said.

One of Malak's best friends is Hadas Prawer, a 14-year-old Israeli from the neighborhood of Mevaseret, which is located west of Jerusalem. I asked Hadas what she tells her friends when they hear she plays with Palestinians.

"I don't care what people think or say, I'm having fun and that's it," she said, before turning around and giving Malak a huge hug.

The traditional Hanukkah 'Sufganiyot' -- the Jewish ball-shaped doughnuts -- were waiting on the sidelines as a reward for the kids' hard work. All the children were wearing T-shirts with the US AID logo on the back, indicating the backing by the US.

"Basketball is huge, especially with the girls," Doubilet added. "Most of these kids don’t have a constructive framework and we give them this activity almost for free. The relationships here will no doubt shape the way Israelis and Palestinians think of each other in the future".

About 550 young people aged from six to 18 enrolled in this program in the past year, bridging communities in Israel like Jaffa, Tamra and Jerusalem where Jews and Muslims live next to each other. 

Haled Sabah is a 20-year-old Palestinian from Shoafat. He joined the program seven years ago and is now one of its coaches.

"I see some racism on both sides but when kids play on the same team they just see each other simply as people," he said.