Fed by the Internet, Israel Buzzes With Scandals of the Rich and Famous

Forget the peace process. Israelis these days are riveted by a pair of sexy scandals involving alleged murder-for-hire and top-level corruption and reaching into the echelons of the rich, famous and very powerful.

On Friday, authorities confirmed what Israelis had been talking about much of the week: The publisher of a popular daily newspaper and scion of a powerful business dynasty is under investigation to determine whether he conspired to kill three people.

Ofer Nimrodi, publisher of the Maariv newspaper, denies the allegations. Nimrodi served a four-month sentence last year for illegal wiretapping during a fierce circulation battle with a rival newspaper. The private detective convicted of planting the bugs at Nimrodi’s behest is the source of the new murder-plot allegations.

Edna Arbel, the state attorney, told Israeli radio that the investigation would take several weeks. No charges have been filed, and Nimrodi has not yet been questioned by authorities.

Nimrodi is also CEO of the Israel Land Development Corp., a $150-million real estate investment firm and flagship of the family’s business empire, which includes insurance and telecommunications holdings. His father, Yaacov, was a millionaire arms dealer once subpoenaed in the Iran-Contra controversy.

The investigation was reported Friday after the partial lifting of a gag order that had barred publication of the information--but failed to stop lively discussion on the Internet.

The news had to compete with another potential scandal in the making: Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the focus of a widening fraud probe.

Netanyahu, defeated in elections in May, and his wife, Sara, were grilled for nine hours by police Thursday, a day after their Jerusalem home and office were raided. They are suspected of illegally keeping gifts received while Netanyahu was prime minister.

Through attorneys, Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing. His supporters say he is the victim of political persecution.

Never popular with the local press, Netanyahu watched as the raid on his home was turned into a media circus. Police hauled away box after box of gifts, gold menorahs, silver tea sets and valuable paintings--all before a battery of television cameras.

The Netanyahus originally came under police suspicion for allegedly billing the government for $104,000 in repairs and renovations to their private property. Those allegations, and the new ones surrounding the gifts, are based on testimony from the contractor, Avner Amedi, and former staff.

Stories about the Nimrodi and Netanyahu inquiries topped local newscasts and filled the front pages of Friday’s newspapers, nearly crowding out any mention of this year’s commemoration of the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Authorities had tried to conceal details of both investigations, yet either through leaks or the Internet, both were the subject of intense conversation and speculation.

“When the media is silenced, the Web roars,” the daily Haaretz said, questioning the role of gag orders and noting that wild rumors filled the void of official information.

“The media’s silence only served to increase the surfers’ feeling that a massive conspiracy was brewing.”

Nimrodi’s accuser is Rafi Pridan, who is serving a four-year prison sentence for wiretapping. Nimrodi’s attorney, Dan Avi-Yitzhak, said that the allegations were the product of a “sick and feverish mind” and that Pridan had long tried to blackmail Nimrodi.

State Atty. Arbel cautioned that Pridan’s allegations have to be weighed carefully, given his role in the case. Authorities refused to reveal details of the investigation, including whom Pridan has alleged that Nimrodi wanted to kill. Media reports said there is no evidence that anyone was killed or that any murder contract was put out.

So explosive are the allegations that on Thursday, when a court said it would allow some of the information to be published, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange halted trading of the Israel Land Development Corp. and other Nimrodi holdings. The family protested the move as unfair.