Yachimovich hopes Herzog probe won’t take ‘heavy toll’ on party

Former Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich said Saturday that suspicions of misconduct plaguing current party chief Isaac Herzog were “a tough, burdensome end” to her week, adding that she hoped the probe would not take a heavy toll on the party.

Yachimovich, who lost the party leadership to Herzog in 2013, and who is widely expected to re-seek the top post in the next party primaries, has been viewed as someone who may benefit greatly from criminal suspicions against the opposition leader.

In a post to her twitter account on Saturday, she claimed this was not so.

“I’m aware of the jokes and assessments that this was [a gift] to me,” she wrote. “That’s very, very far from reality.”

Yachimovich said she would not elaborate on the issue much, as her comments could be taken as political opportunism, particularly as “one of the issues being investigated is tied to me directly — the allegedly illegal funding of a mudslinging campaign against me in the 2013 primaries.”

She said she simply hoped that “justice will prevail” and expressed her trust in the police and the state prosecution to get to the truth of things. “[I] pray that our party will not pay too heavy a price,” she added.

Herzog is under investigation over alleged violations of campaign funding laws during the 2013 primaries.

According to Channel 10 news, those suspicions relate to direct payments made by donors to members of his leadership campaign. The report also said that police have acquired invoices that show Herzog knew of the illicit transactions.

Herzog has struck back at claims of financial wrongdoing, charging the timing of the preliminary probe and its publication in the media were politically motivated.

“We aren’t suckers, we know why this happens, and whoever is responsible will feel a political impact from it for many years. I am not worried about any investigation, and I will cooperate with every procedure asked of me,” Herzog said.

He did not indicate who he believed to be responsible for alleging he violated campaign financing laws in his successful 2013 bid to take over the Labor Party.

“Each time before general or internal elections, there are political sources that attempt to use the police as part of their campaigns. We are very familiar with this path; we have dealt with it in the past, and we will respond strongly to any attempt to make the police part of an election campaign,” he said.

Although Herzog has a relatively positive reputation, this isn’t the first time he has faced suspicions relating to campaign funding.

He once memorably exercised his right to remain silent when he was investigated in 1999 as cabinet secretary, in connection with alleged campaign funding irregularities on the part of then-prime minister Ehud Barak.

Herzog was one of two lawmakers who were revealed to be under investigation for graft this week, along with Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.

Deri, who earlier this week revealed he was again the center of a major corruption investigation, has also vowed to fully cooperate with the police investigation.

Suspicions against Deri reportedly relate to his alleged ownership of several properties around the country, including a large vacation home in the northern Israel town of Safsufa.

Tamar Pileggi and Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.