Avigdor Lieberman, Israel finance minister offered $100,000 to murder-plot a police chief

Avigdor Lieberman, currently the finance minister, offered him $100,000 to murder a police chief.

A few days ago, a man unknown to most Israelis alleged on social media that more than 20 years ago Avigdor Lieberman, currently the finance minister, offered him $100,000 to murder a police chief.

Yossi Kamisa, himself a former police officer, was then an activist in Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party. Some claim they were close.

Allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraud have previously plagued Lieberman, stalking him at the time of this alleged event up until 2013, when he was acquitted.

Kamisa's bombshell post came soon after Lieberman wrapped up a victorious news conference announcing the end of a teachers' strike that endangered his campaign ahead of elections on 1 November.

The criminal aspect of those allegations will be looked into by Attorney-General Gali Baharv-Miara. The political dimension of this horror story, less than 60 days before Israelis vote, is part of a much broader phenomenon: a tug of war between Benjamin Netanyahu and Lieberman over the "Russian" vote.

No wonder Lieberman's first reaction to the allegations, even before he filed a criminal complaint against Kamisa, was a Facebook post entitled "Netanyahu is in panic", not only denying all allegations but also mainly insinuating that the former prime minister is behind the affair. He posted in Hebrew, for all Israeli readers. 

The scandal refuses to fade away, with a legal probe pending. Meanwhile, Lieberman has referred to Netanyahu as "scum of the earth with no red lines"; in return, Likud, of which Netanyahu is chairman, issued a statement hoping "Lieberman will not offer someone $100,000 to kill Netanyahu".

The Russian-speaking cohort of Israelis who migrated from the former Soviet Union, believed to number around 900,000, is no less confused than the general populace, with one small difference: for them, it is more personal. Some even interpret the furore as an assault on their "Russian" party, Yisrael Beiteinu, or on the community in general.