Likud MK says Sara Netanyahu abuse allegations ‘political,’ meant to hurt PM

A Likud lawmaker on Saturday defended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara following another law suit filed by a former female worker at the Prime Minister’s Residence claiming abuse, saying the allegations were part of an “ugly conspiracy” meant to undermine the premier.

“The battery of lawyers and public relations figures enlisted for a lawsuit at a labor court proves that a downtrodden woman was exploited and manipulated in order to tarnish the prime minister’s wife and thereby harm the prime minister for political reasons,” Coalition Chairman David Bitan said at a cultural event Saturday, according to the Walla news site.

“This ugly conspiracy will be exposed,” he added.

Bitan’s comments came after the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Friday that the former worker, a 24-year-old ultra-Orthodox woman, had filed a civil suit against Sara Netanyahu for $64,000 for alleged abuse.

The woman, a mother of three who was not named, worked recently as a cleaner at the residence for just one month.

Among her complaints were not being allowed to take leave when one of her children was sick and being forced to use the bathroom outside the main building, Yedioth reported.

On Saturday, Channel 2 reported additional allegations from the suit, including that Sara Netanyahu screamed at the woman for leaning against her shoe cupboard and made her wash it afterwards.

The television channel also published text messages the woman reportedly sent to her sister detailing the alleged abuse while she worked there.

“From 8:30 have not been able to go to the bathroom or eat,” the woman wrote. “Thank goodness she goes into hair and makeup at 6, then I can eat, drink and go to the bathroom. You can’t take these things for granted.”

Channel 2 TV on Friday said the worker was forced to wash her hands more than 100 times a day and change her clothes up to 10 times a day.

She also claimed that the prime minister’s oldest son Yair Netanyahu would conduct cleanliness inspections.

The prime minister on Facebook called the suit “an extortion attempt” and said it was a case of the “same system, same lies, the same newspaper and the same lawyer.”

Several other former employees have previously claimed mistreatment.

The Netanyahus deny any wrongdoing, dismissing allegations as a political witch hunt by hostile media.

Sara Netanyahu has long been plagued by allegations of allegedly squabbling with staff and meddling in state affairs.

In the suit, the lawyers said that because the woman was ultra-Orthodox, she does not watch TV or listen to the radio, so she was unaware of the previous allegations surrounding Sara Netanyahu.

Her lawyer, Oren Gross, told Channel 2 that the woman had been pressured by political forces to withdraw the complaint.

Last year, a court ruled that Sara Netanyahu abused the former caretaker of the Prime Minister’s Residence, Menny Naftali, and awarded him damages over claims of verbal and emotional abuse at her hands.

The court awarded Naftali NIS 170,000 compensation (about $43,000) for the years of mistreatment while working at the Jerusalem residence, and also ruled he had been misled over his terms of employment.

Naftali had sued the state, the Netanyahus, and the deputy director of the Prime Minister’s Office for NIS 1 million ($258,000) in 2014.

Accusations by Naftali, as well as by another maintenance worker, Guy Eliyahu, ranged from claims of verbal abuse and what he called irrational demands by Sara Netanyahu regarding the management of the residence, to allegations that the prime minister’s wife made him return wine bottles to supermarkets and then pocketed the deposits.

On one occasion, Naftali said, she called him at 3 a.m. to berate him for buying milk in a bag rather than a cartoon. On another occasion, she demanded that a table, freshly laid for a meal outside the residence, be cleared and set afresh because somebody had opened an electric awning above it, sending some dust down.

Mrs. Netanyahu also threw a vase of day-old flowers on the floor, scolding him that they were not fresh enough, he said.

Naftali has also claimed that Sara Netanyahu derided his ethnicity when he ordered food for them in a hotel, implying that his Middle Eastern background was somehow uncouth.

Naftali claimed that Mrs. Netanyahu made him undertake chores at all hours of the day. He accused the Netanyahus of spending money on food and drink ordered from outside the residence, despite the fact that a cook working at the Prime Minister’s Residence is paid for by the state.

(Mrs. Netanyahu is reportedly facing indictment for alleged misuse of funds related to the purchase of food and drink for the residence.)

The judge wrote in her ruling that “numerous testimonies presented to the court point to an atmosphere of harmful work conditions at the residence due to the behavior of Mrs. Netanyahu and her attitude toward the workers. These included irrational demands, insults, humiliation and outbursts of rage.”

In March, Naftali testified against the Netanyahus, who in turn countered that the suit was born of the former caretaker’s frustration over not having received tenure in the position after working as a temporary caretaker for two years.