Daughter of Ofer Winter Reports Suspicious Activity Near Home; Investigation Reveals Private Investigator

The daughter of Ofer Winter, chairman of the 'Am Israel' party, filed a police complaint this week after observing a vehicle with three suspicious individuals near her residence. Police launched an investigation and summoned one of the individuals, who was subsequently identified as a private investigator. After providing testimony and being cleared of any wrongdoing, the investigator was released unconditionally.

The details were revealed by Haaretz correspondent Josh Breiner, who noted that the identity of the party who hired the investigator to surveil Winter remains unknown, though it is presumed to be a rival political party. The use of private investigators in political campaigns is not a new phenomenon in Israel, with past elections seeing instances of parties and candidates employing them to gather information, vet opponents, or investigate internal campaign activities.

Notable past cases include the 2009 election, where the Kadima party reportedly hired the "Harash Investigations" agency to monitor Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu, paying 12,908 shekels. Kadima denied seeking information on the Netanyahus, stating their campaign did not focus on private matters. In 2012, Naftali Bennett hired a private investigator during the Jewish Home party's primaries to gather information on rival Nissan Slomiansky's activities, an expense not reported in his election filings, leading to a 65,000 shekel fine from the State Comptroller. The investigator also approached Bennett's rival, Zevulun Orlev, posing as a donor; Bennett claimed the investigator was hired due to corruption suspicions and denied instructing him to investigate Orlev.

Further incidents include December 2018, when political sources reported private investigators were hired to gather compromising material on Benny Gantz shortly after he formed his 'Hosen L'Yisrael' party. In the 2020 election cycle, the business intelligence firm CGI was reportedly hired to collect embarrassing information on Gantz and other Blue and White party leaders, allegedly through individuals linked to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's circle. The police investigated these claims, though the party behind the operation was never definitively identified, and the Likud party vehemently denied any connection. CGI representatives stated the contract was canceled and funds returned shortly after its inception.

In the 2019 election, Blue and White hired CGI to investigate leaks from their campaign headquarters, creating profiles of party seniors to identify the source. Yaakov Peri, then president of CGI, later claimed Blue and White also requested information on competitors. A dispute arose between Blue and White and CGI regarding the investigation and its publications.