Comptroller looking into Netanyahu allegations after investigative report

The state comptroller is ordering a probe into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, and his office following an investigative report into Netanyahu’s inner circle, Channel 2 reports.

Comptroller Yosef Shapira is looking into allegations made by Vered Swid, the former director of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women, that she faced abuse during her time working in Netanyahu’s office and was forced to use members of her organization to take part in protests in favor of Sara Netanyahu, the report says.

The allegations were part of a profile story by Ilana Dayan of Channel 2’s long-running “Uvda” program, which included exclusive interviews with various officials who have been in Netanyahu’s inner circle, and inside information on the internal operation of his office.

The report depicted a shrewd and calculating politician who appears to be chiefly concerned with safeguarding his own rule, often valuing personal loyalty in his appointments above all other traits.

It also portrayed Sara as a problematic presence in the prime minister’s decision-making process, a power broker who is intimately involved in her husband’s work and decisions and who often has final say on government appointments.

The interview, however, made the most news for Netanyahu’s harsh reaction, after he assailed Dayan, a respected investigative journalist, and called her “a left-wing extremist.”