Pandora Papers might help PM hopeful Nir Barkat's political ambitions

• Published date: 06 October 2021
• Author: MAYA MARGIT/THE MEDIA LINE
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Sunday released some 12 million documents about hidden offshore tax haven assets of hundreds of public officials, politicians and billionaires from around the globe. Known as the Pandora Papers, the leak is the biggest of its kind and featured several prominent leaders, such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Jordan's King Abdullah. Over 600 journalists from 117 countries took part in the massive exposé.

The documents also mentioned the names of 565 Israelis, according to Shomrim, an Israeli nonprofit investigative journalism organization that collaborated in the investigation.

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Among them are Likud MK and former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Barkat, the wealthiest member of Israel's parliament, is considered to be a potential successor to former PM Binyamin Netanyahu and recently said that he hopes to lead the Likud party once Netanyahu retires. In 2019, business magazine Forbes Israel estimated Barkat's net worth at roughly NIS 500 million ($139 million).

Prof. Gideon Rahat, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that the Pandora Paper revelations were unlikely to harm Barkat's career.

"There are two political forces in Israel: one from the center-left that is anti-corruption and one on the right, which is not pro-corruption but is populist [in nature]," Rahat told The Media Line. "Because of populism, politicians on the right will always claim that it's not a real thing, or that it's the media or the deep state, or whatever."

Because Barkat happens to be on the right of the political spectrum, the exposé could actually prove to be politically expedient for him, Rahat argued.

"It might help him, when you put it in the context of populism," he said. "As long as Barkat belongs to the Likud this won't work against him.

"I don't think he will get hurt and if he follows in the steps of Netanyahu, he might even make a political fortune out of him being the new Dreyfus," Rahat said, referring to the infamous political scandal that rocked France in the late 19th century.

According to the ICIJ's investigative report, Barkat held shares in a British Virgin Islands shell company via three companies that own the Russian, British and Israeli subsidiaries of the...