"Drop the Barak election campaign charges." So recommends the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office - in contrast to the police recommendation. Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein and State Prosecutor Edna Arbel will now have to make a final decision.
The case deals with what State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg called at the time a "great blow to the rule of law and to an important fundamental in our lives." Goldberg said that his investigation had revealed a "worrisome method [of funding] that arrogantly tramples the rule of law," and that a "clear red line must be drawn between 'rule' and 'money.'" At issue were 17 associations that helped out in various ways in the Prime Ministerial campaign of then-MK Ehud Barak in 1999. The associations had been established for philanthropic and social purposes such as promoting immigration, advancing students' issues, and deepening of the values of democracy in Israel, but they deviated from these goals by working solely for the election of Ehud Barak. By the end of the campaign, some 5.2 million shekels had been diverted to, and spent by, the associations in question. "As my investigation progressed," Goldberg wrote in his report, "I became increasingly suspicious of the systematic use of entities not officially connected to the party, to illegally further the Barak campaign."
The two key figures in the funding and operation of the fictitious associations were Atty. Yitzchak Herzog, who is now a Labor MK, and Barak's campaign advisor Tal Silberstein. Herzog was the chief fundraiser, while Silberstein directed the funds to the various associations. Atty. Doron Cohen, Barak's brother-in-law, is alleged to have played a more minor role.
The Tel Aviv Prosecution says that the charges against the above three should be closed for lack of evidence. Regarding Barak, both the Prosecution and the police say that there is no clear evidence showing that he knew of the transfer of the funds. The material will be given to Rubenstein and Arbel in the coming days.
MK Michael Eitan (Likud) blasted the recommendations regarding Herzog, saying that the claim that there is no evidence is "absurd." He told Arutz-7 today that he has "plenty of evidence, and the State Comptroller said straight out that the actions were illegal, and to say otherwise is simply to mock the public with totally groundless claims."
Atty. Yoram Sheftel agrees. "There is no doubt," he said today, "that Herzog transferred monies to the Barak campaign from associations for which he was responsible. He himself [didn’t deny this, but rather] tried to claim that he thought the contributions law did not apply in the case of elections - a claim that was not supported by the Attorney-General. To claim that there is no evidence against him is therefore untenable."
Sheftel had rough words for the Prosecution in general: "We must approach the Prosecution with a basic distrust. It can be said with certainty that 90% of them, and not only Liora Glatt-Berkovitz [who leaked information against Prime Minister Sharon in order, she said, to help him be defeated], are clearly leftist. I feel that the investigation was 'guided.' They didn't want to begin the investigation at first in order to not to influence the elections - but in the case of the Likud, they did it right in the middle of the elections - maybe in order to influence them! … It's unreasonable that out of hundreds of people who were questioned, not even one state's witness was found. They found no evidence because they didn't try or want to find any." Sheftel said the chances were "slim to none" that Rubenstein and Arbel would not accept the recommendation to close the cases.
The case deals with what State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg called at the time a "great blow to the rule of law and to an important fundamental in our lives." Goldberg said that his investigation had revealed a "worrisome method [of funding] that arrogantly tramples the rule of law," and that a "clear red line must be drawn between 'rule' and 'money.'" At issue were 17 associations that helped out in various ways in the Prime Ministerial campaign of then-MK Ehud Barak in 1999. The associations had been established for philanthropic and social purposes such as promoting immigration, advancing students' issues, and deepening of the values of democracy in Israel, but they deviated from these goals by working solely for the election of Ehud Barak. By the end of the campaign, some 5.2 million shekels had been diverted to, and spent by, the associations in question. "As my investigation progressed," Goldberg wrote in his report, "I became increasingly suspicious of the systematic use of entities not officially connected to the party, to illegally further the Barak campaign."
The two key figures in the funding and operation of the fictitious associations were Atty. Yitzchak Herzog, who is now a Labor MK, and Barak's campaign advisor Tal Silberstein. Herzog was the chief fundraiser, while Silberstein directed the funds to the various associations. Atty. Doron Cohen, Barak's brother-in-law, is alleged to have played a more minor role.
The Tel Aviv Prosecution says that the charges against the above three should be closed for lack of evidence. Regarding Barak, both the Prosecution and the police say that there is no clear evidence showing that he knew of the transfer of the funds. The material will be given to Rubenstein and Arbel in the coming days.
MK Michael Eitan (Likud) blasted the recommendations regarding Herzog, saying that the claim that there is no evidence is "absurd." He told Arutz-7 today that he has "plenty of evidence, and the State Comptroller said straight out that the actions were illegal, and to say otherwise is simply to mock the public with totally groundless claims."
Atty. Yoram Sheftel agrees. "There is no doubt," he said today, "that Herzog transferred monies to the Barak campaign from associations for which he was responsible. He himself [didn’t deny this, but rather] tried to claim that he thought the contributions law did not apply in the case of elections - a claim that was not supported by the Attorney-General. To claim that there is no evidence against him is therefore untenable."
Sheftel had rough words for the Prosecution in general: "We must approach the Prosecution with a basic distrust. It can be said with certainty that 90% of them, and not only Liora Glatt-Berkovitz [who leaked information against Prime Minister Sharon in order, she said, to help him be defeated], are clearly leftist. I feel that the investigation was 'guided.' They didn't want to begin the investigation at first in order to not to influence the elections - but in the case of the Likud, they did it right in the middle of the elections - maybe in order to influence them! … It's unreasonable that out of hundreds of people who were questioned, not even one state's witness was found. They found no evidence because they didn't try or want to find any." Sheftel said the chances were "slim to none" that Rubenstein and Arbel would not accept the recommendation to close the cases.