Incoming Knesset Finance Committee chair draws conflict of interest scrutiny over husband's business ties

The selection of B'Yachad party lawmaker Liran Avisar Ben Horin to head the Knesset's powerful Finance Committee is facing scrutiny over possible conflicts of interest arising from her husband's work as a consultant to many of Israel's biggest companies.

Avisar Ben Horin, a first-time member of Knesset whose appointment was announced this week, is set to become the first woman to chair the committee. The controversy stems from her marriage to Itay Ben Horin, co-founder and chief executive of Ben Horin Alexandrovich, a public relations and strategic consulting firm ranked among the largest in Israel.

The firm advises prominent clients across the economy's central sectors, including food manufacturer Strauss Group, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, pharmaceutical giant Teva, Ashtrom Construction, real estate developer Africa Israel, investment house Altshuler Shaham, fashion and retail conglomerate Fox Group, credit card company Cal and Samsung.

Before entering politics, Avisar Ben Horin served as managing director of Keystone Infrastructure Fund, a publicly traded investment firm with holdings in the country's largest transportation company Egged and cellular operator Hot Mobile, as well as control of power plants and desalination facilities.

As committee chair, she will control the agenda for legislative proposals covering banking, real estate, infrastructure, industry, food, lending, fashion and trade. The panel debates and votes on the allocation of state budget funds, all forms of taxation, customs duties and excise, loans, foreign currency matters and cost of living issues. Companies in infrastructure, retail and finance have a direct stake in those decisions and frequently take part in the committee's discussions on the budget, public investment, tariffs, land, competition rules and regulatory changes.

Knesset ethics rules oblige lawmakers to withdraw from any discussion in which they or their spouse hold a personal interest, a requirement that could force Avisar Ben Horin to sit out a large share of the committee's work. She previously served as director general of the Communications Ministry, where a conflict of interest agreement already covered communications companies represented by her husband.

Responding to the concerns, Avisar Ben Horin said she was prepared to accept "the strictest rules." She added: "If there is a matter that I cannot deal with, I will not deal with it, and I will appoint someone else in my stead."

Should repeated recusals keep her out of committee meetings, however, it remains unclear who would set the agenda, steer the discussions and lead negotiations in her place.

B'Yachad defended the appointment, saying in a statement that "Avisar Ben Horin will assume her role and act in the interest of the Israeli public and in accordance with the law and principles of proper governance, including adhering to conflict-of-interest arrangements." The party noted her record of abiding by such arrangements over twenty years in public service, including as director general of the Communications Ministry and as chief of staff to the director general of the Prime Minister's Office.

In a letter sent Wednesday, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel asked Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik to examine the potential conflicts in advance in order to safeguard public trust in the committee's work. "In light of the scope and characteristics of the professional and business ties, and given the central role of the Finance Committee in the work of the Knesset, there is room for an advance examination of potential conflicts of interest that may arise during Avisar Ben Horin's term as the committee chair," the group wrote, adding that applying the rules requires balancing the integrity of the parliamentary process against the lawmaker's ability to fulfill her role.