Police are questioning Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar for a second time this week on corruption suspicions as part of a major investigation into the Histadrut, Israel’s main labor federation.
The Likud minister was summoned and interrogated for 11 hours Sunday by police investigators in the Lahav 433 major crimes unit over his ties to the main suspect in the affair, Ezra Gabay.
Gabay, an insurance agent and Likud activist, is suspected of operating a large bribery network by exploiting his connections to Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David and Likud party officials to procure jobs in exchange for securing insurance contracts with labor unions.
Zohar’s office confirms the summons in a statement, saying the minister will “stay for as long as necessary in order to respond to everything and make clear that political activity is not a criminal offense.”
Police announced Sunday that they questioned the minister on suspicion of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
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
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
