Ronald Lauder Quizzed by Police in Benjamin Netanyahu Corruption Probe
Image by Getty Images
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder was questioned by Israeli police last week in connection to the fraud probe into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The police’s anti-fraud unit summoned Lauder while he was in Israel for Shimon Peres’ funeral and questioned him about various aspects of the fraud case. The development was first reported by Channel 2.
Lauder, a Jewish-American businessman and philanthropist, was for decades considered to be a close friend of Netanyahu and has served as the prime minister’s envoy on diplomatic missions. Lauder’s name came up in the probe in connection to gifts he had allegedly given to Netanyahu during their meetings in Israel and abroad as well as funding for the prime minister’s trips.
The relationship between Lauder and Netanyahu deteriorated after Channel 10 ran an exposé in 2011 about how the latter’s family trips were funded. Lauder was one of the channel’s owners at the time.
Last month it was reported that the fraud inquiry into Netanyahu focuses on an attempt to solicit bribes. According to a Channel 2 report, the suspicion is that Netanyahu himself – not through his son or wife – attempted to solicit a bribe.
The latter probe is part of a major case that is under investigation. Part of the inquiry, which touches on Netanyahu’s employment of an adviser with funds from an NGO, has been blocked by a decision from Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
