Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara pocketed the small change from depositing empty beverage bottles in supermarkets and grocery stores, taking c. NIS 24,000 ($ 6,115) which belong to the state, claims Meny Naftali, the prime minister’s residence caretaker who is suing the Netanyahus for alleged misbehavior by the prime minister’s wife toward him.
The Netanyahu couple returned NIS 4,000 (c. $1,000) last year, according to an estimate of NIS 1,000 (c. $250) a year.
Sara Netanyahu, wife of the prime minister (photo credit: Kobi Gideon/Flash90)
Naftali, however, says the sum paid by the Netanyahu family is much lower than the real number. Speaking to Haaretz, he assesses the deposits from bottles at NIS 250 (c. $65) once every fortnight. If his claim is correct, the Netanyahus returned bottles worth NIS 6,000 (c. $1,500) every year, amounting to NIS 24,000 over Netanyahu’s entire term.
The office of State Attorney Yehuda Weinstein did not comment on questions regarding the apparent criminality of Sara Netanyahu’s actions, nor on whether paying back NIS 4,000 last year in lieu of the money for deposited bottles effectively constitutes admission of taking the money.
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