‘Another terrorist’: Sara Netanyahu accused of racist dismissal of Arab customer service worker

An Arab Israeli college student suspected of spying for Iran told Shin Bet investigators that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, called him a “terrorist” after he shared his name during a customer service call for the HOT Mobile phone company last year, according to notes from the interrogation obtained by The Times of Israel.

The Ben Gurion University student had recorded the call and had written about the interaction on his phone, leading interrogators to ask about it during their questioning.

The suspect recalled how, when he was working for HOT one Saturday last year, he answered a call from a customer, sharing his name and asking how he could assist.

Netanyahu could then be heard on the other end exasperatingly declaring, “Another terrorist is answering me.”

The suspect testified that he subsequently realized that he was the third Arab to receive a call from Netanyahu. It was a Saturday when companies are legally barred from requiring Jewish employees to work.

The suspect passed a polygraph, and the notes on the interrogation obtained by The Times of Israel indicated that the Shin Bet uncovered the recording of the call on his phone. The investigators also noted that the suspect was cooperating with authorities.

The suspect is accused of responding to an Iranian operative who reached out and asked him to carry out intelligence-finding missions in exchange for money. He is one of dozens of Israelis from various backgrounds who have been arrested on such charges since the outbreak of the Gaza war.

Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.