The Israel Police raided the Jerusalem offices of Women’s Advancement Minister May Golan (Likud) on Monday morning as part of an investigation into fraud, misuse of public funds, and fictitious employment.
Police officers from Lahav 433 – The National Crime Unit also raided the offices of one of Golan’s advisers in Yavne, where they found a drug lab. A lawyer who once advised Golan was detained for questioning and later released to house arrest.
In response, Golan said there was “no basis whatsoever for the suspicions against me.” The investigation was “political persecution,” she said.
Golan said she would only cooperate with the investigation “after the immediate release of the people who were arrested as a means of intimidating me, people whose only ‘crime’ was working alongside me.”
Golan also said she would “not be intimidated” by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, adding that she was being summoned “because [Baharav-Miara] cannot tolerate my criticism of her and of her despicable actions against the government of Israel and the people of Israel.”
In July, State Attorney Amit Aisman and 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.
The investigation was prompted by a Channel 12 report in January that unearthed allegations against Golan of mismanagement of funds and securing positions through favoritism. The undercover police investigation was made public on Monday.
Golan began her political career as a social activist in south Tel Aviv. Her top priority was the issue of 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 there were not concrete advancements on the issue, according to the allegations.
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.
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 that when Golan 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 attained 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. Golan’s aggressive tone at the Knesset plenum was used as well against her own staff, A. said.
Golan allegedly had used office funds and resources for activities that did not fall under her responsibilities, such as having staff members drive her mother, Rimona, around and buying her a shwarma sandwich, as well as running errands for the minister and delivering personal gifts to her friends.
Many advisers who had left still 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, Channel 12 reported.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) inquired about Golan’s schedule, citing her absence from government meetings in the morning, despite her regular work hours in the evenings and at night.
Serious allegations
The developments in the case indicated the seriousness of the allegations, MQG said Monday.
“Government ministers cannot continue in their role when such serious allegations of misuse of public funds are levied against them,” it said. It called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Golan immediately and “vow that the investigation will take place without political interference.”
When Golan was chairwoman 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, she organized a tour of south Tel Aviv for members of the Taiwanese embassy and claimed false accomplishments regarding the neighborhood’s refugee issue, the report said.
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. It was unclear where the money has gone, as HaIr HaIvrit has failed to submit financial reports over the past three years, Channel 12 reported.
When the investigative report was published, Golan denied all of the allegations, as did most of the other individuals who were named.
According to the allegations, her long-time and loyal advisers had been politically slick and used their positions of power to set up fake jobs for their family members.
One suspect is attorney Ehud Gabbai, who worked at a branch of the Israel Post in Petah Tikva but later studied law and opened a small firm in Ashdod, Channel 12 reported. In 2019, he became a parliamentary adviser to Golan.
Gabbai was also a board member of HaIr HaIvrit and provided Golan with legal counsel. Within the past year, tens of thousands of shekels were dedicated to the preparation of lawsuits, but there was no public record of any of the suits Gabbai had managed on her behalf, the report said. Gabbai’s pay allegedly comprised both Knesset funds and money from Golan’s NGO.
The setup also included Gabbai’s wife, Inbal, who had been a secretary at the Ashdod Municipality for years and later left to open a dog hair-trimming business, the report said. While she was managing her private business, she was also listed for months as an employee in Golan’s office and received a government paycheck, it said
The Gabbais have denied the allegations.
A different acquaintance and friend of Golan’s, Netanel Chai Yosef, served as her political adviser and received NIS 250,000 for providing media advice to Golan, the report said.
Yosef had secured a job for Noam Aharoni, the daughter of his partner. When she finished her National Service at age 21, she registered as an employee of the Social Equality Ministry and received a paycheck. Other employees told Channel 12 she had never shown up at the office and requested to set up a work-from-home system for herself.
According to the report, Golan had exerted pressure on Transportation Minister Miri Regev to advance the business interests of Roi Stern, one of the owners of the Stern-Versano real-estate firm personal, with the NTA, the Metropolitan Mass Transit System, a government-licensed company.
Stern’s wife, Merav, made a significant career change a few weeks after donating to HaIr HaIvrit, the report said. Once an adviser 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 the allegations.
The close relationships between Golan and these figures were never publicly disclosed, especially concerning HaIr HaIvrit, Channel 12 reported.
At the time, Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon advised terminating Merav’s appointment. Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkovitz approved it three times and ruled that the personal connections between Golan and Stern did not need to be disclosed legally.