Culture Minister Miki Zohar questioned for 11 hours in Histadrut corruption probe

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar was questioned by police for 11 hours on Sunday as part of a major corruption investigation into the Histadrut, Israel’s main labor federation.

Police confirmed that investigators in the Lahav 433 major crimes unit summoned “a sitting minister” to be interrogated in the probe.

Hebrew outlets reported that the minister, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, was questioned about his ties to the main suspect in the affair, Ezra Gabay.

Gabay, an insurance agent and veteran Likud activist, is thought to have exploited his close connections to Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David and Likud party officials to procure jobs and hand out senior positions in government-owned corporations and local authorities in exchange for securing insurance contracts with labor unions and municipalities and their workers.

Police suspect Gabay orchestrated a network of bribes and favors worth millions of shekels in exchange for political and business advantages.

Zohar confirmed the summons in a social media post, saying he arrived Sunday morning for questioning in order to “respond to all the questions and to refute all the claims that will arise.”

“My friendships with various people cannot turn me into a suspect. I have no doubt that the full answers I will provide will refute everything and clarify that I have no connection to this affair,” he wrote on X.

Zohar’s name came up after Kiryat Gat Mayor Kfir Suissa was summoned for questioning, Ynet news reported.

Suissa, a close associate of Zohar, had previously served as the director general of his Culture and Sports Ministry. Zohar’s name surfaced in the investigation during one of the legal hearings, when a lawyer questioned why he had not been interrogated back in November. Gabay’s defense attorney said in an earlier hearing that his client had been questioned about Zohar.

Suissa was questioned in November on suspicion of transferring city employee insurance contracts to Gabay’s agency in exchange for political help.

Suissa has denied the allegations and noted that he had not been arrested.

In November, police detained a number of senior officials in the Histadrut, including Bar-David, his wife Hila, his deputy, another senior union official, a workers’ committee chairman, and three additional suspects, amid a major investigation into alleged corruption.

Police said the investigation spanned more than two years, and that those detained are suspected of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and tax offenses.

According to testimony collected last year, the names of several ministers — all from the Likud party — surfaced, including those of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem, Energy Minister Eli Cohen, and Zohar.

Zohar denied any involvement after details of the investigation were released, telling Channel 12: “I don’t understand what I’m supposed to comment on. I have absolutely no connection to this affair.”

Many of Zohar’s subordinates in the ministry were also questioned in November.

Investigators in the Lahav 433 unit reportedly described the unfolding case as “the largest we’ve ever handled.”

Among the suspects in the corruption probe are senior officials at KKL-JNF, the Wingate Institute, and Israel Railways, as well as local authorities in Rishon Lezion, Ashdod, Kiryat Bialik, Harish, Rosh HaAyin, and Kiryat Gat.

In response, the Histadrut has said it is cooperating with law enforcement authorities.