Hadera Mayor Haim Avitan and 12 other senior municipal officials, including Avitan’s brother, were arrested Sunday morning on charges of bribery, fraud, money laundering, breach of trust and tax violations.
Police said the arrests were the result of a months-long undercover investigation, and that in addition to the arrests, offices in the municipality, several companies and the homes of the suspects were raided and searched.
Authorities have long suspected the Hadera municipality as being a center of financial irregularities, Israel Radio reported. An investigation into the mayor’s appointment of close associates to position of power in the city was closed last month due to lack of evidence.
In February, Avitan’s car and a municipal storage facility were torched by unknown assailants in what police said at the time were related incidents.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
