The Paul Manafort affair: the Israeli connection
Israeli politicians are demanding investigations into which 'senior Israeli official' appears to have close ties to the Kremlin and was apparently involved in an effort by the former American lobbyist Paul Manafort to smear a Ukrainian politician as anti-Semitic.
![USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-MANAFORT Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S. June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC17B93AD850](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2018/09/RTX699KL.jpg/RTX699KL.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=y3N3hw3B)
The investigation of special prosecutor Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections crossed the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in mid-September to land in Israel with a bang.
The plea agreement Mueller reached with Paul Manafort tells of the involvement of a “senior Israeli official” who ostensibly cooperated with Manafort when he worked as a lobbyist for pro-Russian former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. During Ukraine's 2012 parliamentary elections, the Israeli was supposed to publicize an announcement, formulated in coordination with Manafort, tying the opposition's Yulia Tymoshenko, a Fatherland Party candidate, to anti-Semitic elements. The goal was to pressure the US government to moderate its support of Tymoshenko by turning “Obama Jews” — Jews who supported President Barack Obama — against her. Elementary.