Jobs for friends, missing funds: Police arrest lawyer, probe May Golan’s ministry, office

The probe focuses on suspicions that ministry employees and outside individuals were involved in obtaining financial benefits through deception.

The Jerusalem offices of Likud MKMay Golan, minister for Social Equality and Women’s Advancement, were raided on Monday morning by Israel Police officers as part of an investigation into fraud, misuse of public funds, and fictitious employment in the ministry and her office - all on the backs of taxpayer money.

Officers from the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit’s Fraud Squad also raided the offices of one of Golan’s advisors in Yavne, where they found a drug-production lab. A lawyer, who once advised Golan, was apprehended for questioning as well. A hearing has been set for Monday afternoon.

In July, State-Attorney Amit Aisman and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered police to interrogate Golan under caution, after a criminal investigation into the professional practices in her office and ministry had been opened.

This was all thanks to an investigative journalistic report conducted by Channel 12 in January, which unearthed the wild alleged mismanagement of funds and securing positions through favoritism by the minister, leading to an undercover police investigation, which turned public on Monday.

Golan began her political career as a social activist in southern Tel Aviv, and set as her top priority the issue of the thousands of refugees living in the neighborhood, which had turned into a crime- and drug-infested zone that authorities could not breach.

She founded an NGO dedicated to the matter called HaIr HaIvrit (“the Hebrew city”). Funds began rolling in from donations, but this hadn't exactly translated to concrete advancements on the issue.

As a board member, Golan allegedly received a full salary from the NGO in the amount of thousands of shekels, which is illegal while she holds public office. A., a former confidant of hers, told Channel 12 at the time that when she was elected as an MK in April 2019 at the age of 34, the switch in employment barred her from any activities related to the NGO, “but there are things she did that she cannot run from.” Documents from the NGO secured by Channel 12 found a massive overlap between employees at HaIr HaIvrit - and those at her office and in the government.

Two years later, when the current coalition was formed in 2022, Golan became a minister. A added at the time that her aggressive tone at the Knesset plenum was used as well against her own staff.

Allegedly and per the investigative report, Golan used office funds and resources for activities that did not fall under her responsibilities, like driving her mother, Rimona, around, and buying her a shawarma sandwich, as well as running errands for the minister and delivering personal gifts to her friends.

Many advisors had left, the report noted, but faced legal challenges with the contract they had signed with her, while those who stayed told of requests they had received at odd hours, and that Golan's chief interest was her portrayal in the media.

NGO The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) inquired about her schedule, following her notable absence from morning government meetings, despite her regular work hours in the evenings and at night.

Serious allegations

On Monday, MQG noted that the developments in the case indicate the seriousness of the allegations.

“It cannot be allowed for a minister to continue in their role when such serious allegations of misuse of public funds are levied against them,” said the NGO, as it called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire her immediately, and “vow that the investigation will take place without political interference.”

One noteworthy instance occurred during Golan's tenure as chair of the Israel-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, a bipartisan caucus in the Knesset dedicated to strengthening diplomatic and economic ties between Israel and Taiwan.

In 2023, Golan organized a tour of South Tel Aviv for members of the Taiwanese embassy, and, according to the report, presented false accomplishments in the neighborhood's refugee issue. The embassy received a request from HaIr HaIvrit for a donation, initially for $78,000, which was subsequently reduced to $20,000.

The money was transferred, and a celebratory ceremony was held; however, it is unclear where the money has gone, as HaIr HaIvrit has failed to submit financial reports in the past three years, Channel 12 noted.

When the investigative report was published in January, Golan denied all of the allegations, as did most of the individuals named in the report.

The allegations are that her long-time and loyal advisors were politically slick and used their positions of power to set up fake jobs for their family members.

One such man, per Channel 12, is lawyer Ehud Gabbai, who worked at a branch of the Israel Post in Petah Tikva, but later in life decided to study law and opened a small firm in Ashdod. In 2019, he became a parliamentary advisor to Golan.

However, Gabbai was also a board member at HaIr HaIvrit and provided her with legal counsel. According to the report, within the past year, tens of thousands of shekels were dedicated to the preparation of lawsuits; however, there was no public record of any of the ones Gabbai managed on her behalf. Gabbai's pay allegedly comprised both Knesset funds and money from her NGO.

The report detailed that this setup also extended to Gabbai's wife, Inbal. Inbal had been a secretary at the Ashdod municipality for years, and later left to open a dog hair-trimming business. The investigative report found that, while she was managing her private business, she was also listed, for months, as an employee in Golan's office - and thus received a government paycheck.

The Gabbai couple denied the allegations.

A different acquaintance and friend of Golan's, Netanel Chai Yosef, served as her political advisor, per the investigative report, and received a quarter of a million shekels for media advisory to Golan.

Per the report, Yosef, in his position, secured a job for Noam Aharoni, the daughter of his partner. When she finished her National Service at age 21, the report explains, she registered as an employee of the Social Equality Ministry. She received a paycheck, but other employees told Channel 12 that she never showed up at the office and had requested, early on, to set up a work-from-home system for herself.

Another example the investigators found is Roi Stern, one of the owners of the Stern-Versano real estate firm. The report revealed pressure that Golan exerted on Transportation Minister Miri Regev to advance Stern's personal business interests with the NTA - Metropolitan Mass Transit System, a government-licensed company.

The journalists discovered that Merav Stern, Roi's wife, underwent a significant career change just a few short weeks after donating to HaIr HaIvrit. Once an advisor to small businesses, she quickly became the temporary director-general of Golan's office - despite a complete lack of experience in the public sector.

The Sterns denied any connection to the allegations.

Channel 12 noted that these close relationships between Golan and these figures were never publicly disclosed, especially concerning HaIr HaIvrit.

At the time, Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon advised terminating Merav's appointment. Still, Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkovitz approved it three times in a row, and even ruled that the personal connections between Golan and Stern did not need to be disclosed legally.