Report: Family of PM’s late aide set to file NIS 8 million lawsuit against Netanyahu family, Likud party

The family of a deceased former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to file a NIS 8 million ($2.2 million) lawsuit against the premier’s Likud party and his family for harassment, abuse, humiliation, and economic exploitation, according to a Channel 12 news report.

The report comes after the network’s investigative program, Uvda, last week published text messages between the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, and his late assistant, Hanni Bleiweiss, that purport to show efforts to combat those perceived as enemies of the first family.

Bleiweiss died of cancer in March 2023.

“In the last year of her life, [Bleiweiss] suffered harassment, abuse, humiliation, and economic exploitation that severely affected her and harmed her health,” the report quotes from the lawsuit.

The family is also quoted as saying that during Bleiweiss’ time working for the Netanyahu family, she was often required to make purchases with her own money and file for expenses, including buying food for Likud staff and personal items for party leadership.

The purchases came to a total of at least NIS 400,000 ($110,000), according to the report.

In another allegation, the family is quoted as saying that Likud members spread false claims that Bleiweiss was pretending to suffer from cancer in order to keep her job.

The lawsuit will include evidence of the claims, Channel 12 reports, citing the Bleiweiss family.

Responding to the report, Likud denies the claims and says the lawsuit is an attempt to squeeze money from the party.