It might make for a good
political case, but his legal
argument — that he didn't
know — isn't going down
well even in his own cabi-
net. And such logic is what
m here are so many investigations of Israeli
his defeated rival, Likud's
A major public figures that Internal Security
Binyamin "Bibi"
Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami has called corrup
c,
Netanyahu, would say
tion a strategic threat" to the nation. In addi-
when someone caught him
tion to the Barak campaign finance scandal:
in the wrong, allegedly ille-
• President Ezer Weizman is under investi-
gal or merely unseemly.
gation for pocketing hundreds of thousands
And remember, Barak
of dollars from a French tycoon when he was
aggressively campaigned on-
a Knesset member and cabinet minister.
an "anti-Bibi" platform. His
• Former Prime Minister Binyamin
voters saw him as far more
Netanyahu is under investigation for accept-
trustworthy and straight-
ing more than $100,000 in services from a
forward than Netanyahu.
transport company when he was prime minis-
This Mr. Clean image
ter, and of keeping hundreds of official gifts
now has been damaged
that rightfully belonged to the state.
badly. If Barak ends up
• Ofer Nimrodi, publisher of Ma'ariv,
getting indicted, he would
Israel's second larcrest newspaper is under
have to leave office. girt
investigation for conspiracy to commit mur-
even if cleared of criminal
der and a slew of other charges related to his
responsibility — which
past wiretapping conviction, for which he
could take months, the
served five months in prison.
police investigation
• Former Justice Minister Tsachi Hanegbi,
promising to be rigorous
state prosecutors have announced, will soon be
— Barak's ability to
indicted for fraud and breach of trust. He
achieve his hugely ambi-
allegedly received tens of thousands of dollars
tious goals could be mor-
from private sources while a Knesset member.
tally wounded.
He has promised peace
with Syria and the Palestinians within
launder the money for the campaign.
a year, but to get there he must per-
The lion's share, according to
suade Israelis to make far-reaching
Goldberg, came from a trust fund
concessions in territory. He needs the
financed by Oktav Botnar, a Jewish
public trust for that kind of persua-
multi-millionaire who died in
Switzerland in 1998. Botnar was
sive power, and he just lost a lot of it.
(This is not to mention
reportedly on the lam from tax
that the negotiations with
authorities in his home
both the Syrians and
country of England.
Palestinians are at a stand-
According to the Israeli
still, and that the idea of
campaign-financing law of
trading the Golan for peace
1994, candidates cannot
with Syria wasn't going
receive any money whatso-
down well anyway.)
ever from foreign sources,
As for the public's atti-
and a maximum of
tude, in general it seems to
approximately $450 from
Will the alleged
believe that Barak did
laundering of funds an Israeli individual or
something bad, but it does-
household. Other than
give Syrians or
n't know exactly what. A
this, Israeli candidates
Palestinians more
poll by the authoritative
receive their campaign
Dahaf Institute found that
funds from the national
leverage in peace
56 percent believed Barak
budget.
talks with Israel?
knew that his campaign-
Mind you, One Israel
Give your opinion on
financing operation wasn't
wasn't the only party to
JN Online at
kosher. Yet, 62 percent said
come under suspicion of
www.detroit
they didn't understand why
breaking the law. The
jewishnews.com
it wasn't kosher.
Likud and three other par-
What happened, accord-
ties also are being investi-
gated, although for much lesser
ing to the state comptroller, was that
alleged violations.
two senior Barak campaign aides —
Add that to a long list of other
Yitzhak Herzog, now cabinet secre-
tary, and Tal Zilberstein — trans-
investigations. In its own little way,
Israel is running circles around
ferred money from a foreign donor
Watergate-era America. ❑
into fictitious organizations set up to

Israel Under
Investigation

❑

2/4
2000

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