41 MKs Face Corruption Charges After Accepting Valentine’s Day Bouquets

The revelations came on the heels of a police decision to recommend criminal prosecution for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in two cases.

Jerusalem, February 15 – Scandal continued to rock Israel’s political scene yesterday as dozens of legislators were swept up in a widening investigation into illegal acceptance of gifts following delivery to the parliament of numerous balloons, chocolates, gift baskets, cards, and flower bouquets to mark St. Valentine’s Day.

A police spokesman announced this morning (Thursday) that lawmakers from several political parties face possible indictment if the police end up recommending such a course of action by the prosecutor’s office following investigations. 41 Members of Knesset have been named so far in the investigation, but police expect to name at least fifteen others by next week.

“This crosses almost all party lines,” declared Deputy Commissioner Hugh Scratchbach. “The only parties not represented in our current list of suspects are Shas and United Torah Judaism, but even that distinction may fade as inquiries continue.”

Scratchbach detailed the names of nine lawmakers from Likud, five from Labor, ten from Yesh Atid, three from Yisrael Beiteinu, and two each from Meretz, Jewish Home, Kulanu, Hadash, Raam-Taal, Balad, and the United Arab List. The police opened the investigation yesterday amid reports of the Valentine’s Day deliveries taking place. The deputy commissioner declined to specify which other parties are represented in the roster of yet-unannounced suspects.

The revelations came on the heels of a police decision to recommend criminal prosecution for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in two cases involving apparent political quid-pro-quos with a local newspaper magnate and a Hollywood producer. Sensitivity surrounding the issue of such gifts played a role in the reports reaching the police yesterday, and in their swift decision to open an investigation in to the phenomenon.

“It’s certainly possible people are sending expressions of love or attraction to these public servants,” allowed political commentator Hanan Crystal on Reshet Bet radio. “But I wouldn’t bet on more than a handful having such ardent admirers, and certainly not in the romantic sense, so that looks a little suspicious. I do find it telling that at least so far, the Haredi parties seem not to have received any love, possibly because their constituents wouldn’t be caught dead celebrating a holiday with such an overt pagan pedigree, but also possibly because no one finds them as attractive as, say, Buji Herzog.” While St. Valentine’s Day is often referred to in Israeli parlance by other terms such as “the Love Festival,” its idolatrous associations remain of concern to many of the more traditional Jews.

Initial reports indicate the Valentine’s Day gifts came from fifth-grade students at a school in Kfar Sava who were learning about democracy.

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