Court demands Sara Netanyahu respond to abuse lawsuit
PM’s wife rebuked for failing to react to allegations of misconduct made by former caretaker Menny Naftali
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The Jerusalem District Labor Court reprimanded state prosecutors representing Sara Netanyahu Wednesday for failing to respond to a lawsuit filed against her by a former caretaker of the Prime Minister’s Residence.
Reacting to state prosecutors representing Netanyahu, who claimed her testimony is not necessary to court proceedings, Judge Dita Proginin said that the demand was “not a recommendation,” and that it was crucial in order to clarify the allegations.
The court demanded Netanyahu submit a deposition reacting to former caretaker Menny Naftali’s claims by March 15, only two days prior to the Israeli elections.
On Tuesday, the depositions of 10 current and former employees who dispelled Naftali’s claims of abuses by the Netanyahus were submitted to court by the family’s representatives, Israel Radio reported.
Naftali is suing the Netanyahu estate for NIS 1.1 million ($278,600) in a labor dispute, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife of financial misconduct at their official residence in Jerusalem and their private home in Caesarea, a wealthy coastal community south of Haifa.
Also on Wednesday, Naftali submitted an unsigned deposition allegedly written by Netanyahu, in which she rejects the accusations against her, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
Naftali claimed he obtained the document through an employee at the office of a private lawyer associated with Netanyahu, though not one of the prosecutors representing her in the case.
The court demanded Naftali clarify the circumstances in which he obtained the alleged deposition by Thursday afternoon.
Naftali testified with the Lahav 433 fraud investigation unit in February for a marathon 11 hours with the Israel Police against Netanyahu after receiving limited immunity from prosecution. He reportedly provided documents and recordings detailing alleged financial abuse by the couple.
Outside of the NIS 1.1 million suit, Naftali also separately sued Netanyahu for libel following an interview where Netanyahu said Naftali had been fired, even though he claims to have resigned.
A spending report released by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira in February detailed lavish spending by Netanyahu and his wife and alleged possible criminal misdeeds by the two.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said his office would open a preliminary investigation into the alleged financial misconduct, but only after the upcoming elections. He is expected to summon employees at the official residence for interrogation.
Police have said that the Netanyahus may also be called in for questioning. Weinstein said the prime minister is not a suspect.
Justin Jalil and AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.