- February 2, 2026
- 2:48 pm
- Israel
In Israel, the name of the mayor of a major city in the south of the country, suspected of embezzling donations collected during the war to help civilians, has been announced. Today he was detained in Eilat, where he was participating in a conference of local council treasurers.
The matter concerns the Ashkelon municipality. According to Channel 14, the main figure in the investigation is the city’s mayor, Tomer Glam. He was interrogated by officers from the police anti-corruption unit along with assistants and several high-ranking municipal employees.
The arrest occurred on the same day when Glam was among colleagues — people responsible for budgets and the distribution of public funds. The investigative actions were a complete surprise to the conference participants.
The case gained particular resonance due to a detail reported by eyewitnesses to the newspaper “Israel Hayom.” A few hours before the arrest, the mayor of Ashkelon delivered an emotional speech about the inadmissibility of corruption in local government bodies. His words sounded like a manifesto of honesty — and now they appear especially contrasting against the backdrop of the suspicions.
The 50-year-old Glam told the audience that he learned a simple rule from childhood. According to him, his mother always repeated: with personal money, you can do as you please, but public funds are “sacred” and require special responsibility. These phrases, spoken from the podium, were later called “striking” by conference participants in light of the ongoing investigation.
In his speech, the mayor instructed colleagues from local councils, emphasizing that their task is not to keep budgets in offices but to bring money to the residents. He spoke about waste removal, education, culture, the ability to negotiate with the government, and finding funding. “And the money is there,” he assured the audience.
This is where the story takes on an especially harsh context. NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency points out: when public statements about morality and responsibility coincide with suspicions of systemic corruption, the public damage goes far beyond the specific case.
According to the investigation, the scheme looked like this: large sums of donations were transferred through a number of unnamed business structures. In return, fictitious receipts were issued for work and services that were not actually performed. The money intended for the affected population of the south of the country ended up in the pockets of the suspects.
We are talking about millions of shekels — funds donated by Israelis and foreign donors, expecting that they would go to help people who survived rocket attacks and evacuation.
Around noon, Israeli media reported another detail: as part of the investigation, the mayor’s wife, Tali Glam, was detained for questioning. Her possible role in the financial operations is also being studied by the investigation.
At the moment, the police continue to collect testimonies and analyze financial documents. No official charges have been filed yet, but the very fact of the mayor’s arrest during a professional conference has already become one of the most high-profile corruption scandals of the year.
The investigation continues. Its results will have significance not only for Ashkelon but for the entire local government system in Israel — especially in wartime conditions, when trust in the distribution of public funds becomes critically important.
