Members of the ethics committee approved the organization of Nissim Vaturi's sailing event on Monday. Two weeks ago, Vaturi's picture appeared on an ad urging Likud members to join him on a cruise in September. On June 6, the ethics committee discussed the issue, and now the answer has come – the ethics committee approved the cruise, but imposed a number of warnings and restrictions on Vaturi.
In the letter, committee chairman Yinon Azoulay refers to the publication of the ad with Vaturi's picture ahead of the cruise, and states: "Knesset members are forbidden to sponsor, assist or promote or commercial entities. In its decisions, the Ethics Committee noted the difficulties arising from the sponsorship or publication of a commercial entity by a member of Knesset, due to fear of the appearance of a conflict of interest or the appearance of receiving a prohibited benefit."
The ad about the cruise published by Vaturi, photo: uncredited
"In your application, you mentioned that each of the participants in the cruise will pay for his participation directly to the company operating the event and that you are not involved in the bookings themselves or in the logistics organization, but only in organizing the content. At the committee hearing, you presented the advertisement in which your name and picture appear and noted that there is no mention of the name of the company or commercial entity carrying out the cruise."
The letter to Vaturi added: "As the committee members and I noted at the June 6 meeting, from your photo and name appearing in the event's brochure, it is difficult to see this as a limited involvement on your behalf, since the artwork of the leaflet may mislead and export other appearances regarding your involvement. However, the Committee takes note of your declaration that there is no mediation or sponsorship action on your behalf for the Event and that even in the advertisement presented to us there is no mention of the commercial entity. In the future, it is recommended that you consult in advance with the Knesset Ethics Committee or the Attorney General on organizing such activities so that the permitted political, partisan and public activity does not cross the ethical boundary permitted in the Knesset."
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