Police interrogated Drorit Steinmetz, acting director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office, on suspicion of involvement in a corruption scandal centered around Social Equality Minister May Golan, Haaretz reports.
Golan is suspected of creating made-up jobs in her ministry for her close associates and their family members.
Police believe Steinmetz is guilty of fraud and breach of trust, after allegedly helping one of Golan’s associates secure a position in her ministry, a source involved in the affair tells Haaretz.
The alleged beneficiary is Harel Hershkowitz. According to a Channel 12 report last year, he was hired to help Golan’s ministry with social media activity and may have continued to fill the role even after being drafted into the army, flouting regulations.
The man happens to be the grandson of Daniel Hershkowitz, who supervises civil servants employed by the state in his role as acting civil service commissioner.
Authorities suspect the elder Hershkowitz approved his grandson’s appointment to Golan’s ministry, among others, Haaretz reports. He denies the allegations.
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
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
