The Yadlin affair (, ''Parashat Yadlin'') was a
political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
scandal that broke in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1976, involving senior members of the
Labor Party (then the major faction in the
Alignment). It is often seen as one of the reasons for the "revolution" of the
1977 elections.
Background
In 1976, ''
HaOlam HaZeh'' began publishing investigations regarding illegitimate financial transactions concerning senior members of the labor movement and the party funds. The names mentioned included
Asher Yadlin, who was about to be appointed Governor of the
Bank of Israel. Yadlin was known to be a gambling buff (favoring the
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
roulette table) with an eye for pretty women. He was also a major fund raiser for the
Labor Party; since 1973, he had headed Israel's huge
Kupat Holim health-insurance program.
The reports also mentioned
Avraham Ofer,
Yitzhak Rabin's
Minister of Housing. The investigations suggested bribery, and the reporter
Yigal Laviv pressed charges.
Scandal
The
cabinet decided, on September 5, to appoint Yadlin, former head of the
Histadrut's economic enterprises, governor of the Bank of Israel to succeed
Moshe Sanbar on November 1. On the day after the cabinet decision,
Police Minister Shlomo Hillel and Attorney-General
Aharon Barak were informed that the police had been inquiring into allegations against Yadlin of improper conduct in the management of Kupat Holim. Yadlin declared that the allegations were without basis and that he would welcome an investigation.
After a month of intensive police investigation, Yadlin was detained for interrogation on suspicion of having accepted bribes and undercover commissions in transactions affecting Kupat Holim. On October 24 the cabinet resolved, without prejudging the charges against Yadlin, that it could no longer delay the appointment, and named Director-General of the Treasury
Arnon Gafni as governor of the Bank of Israel.
There was considerable criticism of the daily publicity by the press to unproven rumors of charges against Yadlin, which were believed to have been fed by unauthorized disclosures from police sources. In mid-December Yadlin was charged with taking bribes totaling
IL280,000, as well as other offenses, and was remanded in custody until his trial.
On March 14, 1977, Yadlin pleaded guilty to some of the charges, involving bribes totaling IL124,000, but claimed that he had handed over
IL80,000 of the money to Labor party funds, adding that he had raised "millions" for the party. The judge did not accept his claim and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment and a fine of IL250,000. Further charges were to be investigated by the police after consideration of Yadlin's appeal.
Aftermath
Towards the upcoming elections,
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
and his supporters had jumped on the Yadlin scandal as proof of Rabin's poor judgment in making appointments. For the left, it showed that the Labor Party had lost track of its ideological
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
roots.
For the Israeli right, it was evidence of the Labor Party's corruption.
It is widely regarded as one of the main causes of the
Labor party's downfall in the elections.
Yadlin was released from prison in 1981 and subsequently emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Talia Livni, Yadlin's
common law wife, was a lawyer who assisted him in legal matters. She married him while he was in jail, but divorced him after he emigrated. Dalia, Yadlin's ex-wife, supported him and tried to present him as a pawn in the party's hands and as a victim of its "method".
Avraham Ofer, whose name was associated with the Yadlin affair as well as another one, committed suicide on January 3, 1977.
Barak was seen as a relentless fighter against corruption. He was later appointed to the
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...
. Some argue that his role in the Yadlin affair helped him carry out his famous
judicial activist positions.
The "Yadlin House", a building in north
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, whose construction was linked to the bribe money, remained unfinished. In 2005 it was sold and has since been demolished.
References
External links
Yadlin Affair, 1975Maariv, 17 December 2007 {{in lang, he
Political scandals in Israel
1976 in Israeli politics