Sara Netanyahu is a private citizen, AG says, as she goes on diplomatic trip

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a private citizen with no special status, Attorney General Avichay Mandelblit ruled, with regard to her current, government-funded trip to Guatemala.

Sara Netanyahu on Tuesday arrived in the Central American country for an unprecedented diplomatic visit hailed by officials as “historic,” as it marks the first time a prime minister’s spouse has gone on an official trip alone. But since Israeli law does not grant a prime minister’s spouse any special status, Mandelblit approved her trip “as an ordinary citizen who accompanies a Foreign Ministry delegation,” Haaretz reported Monday.

Unlike countries such as the US and Guatemala, Israel has no first lady, and Sara Netanyahu is not considered a civil servant or an employee of the state.

“The attorney general rules that in the current legal situation in Israel, the wife of the prime minister does not acquire a special legal status,” a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry told the newspaper on Mandelblit’s behalf. However, the statement went on to say that Foreign Ministry Director-General Yuval Rotem was convinced that Sara Netanyahu’s participation in the delegation was “justified,” and therefore there was no problem with her joining the trip.

According to Foreign Ministry rules, trips abroad by Israelis who are not civil servants may be approved by the director-general if they are found to be legitimate and advance the ministry’s interests.

The Foreign Ministry said in response: “Mrs. Netanyahu’s travel was approved legally, administratively and diplomatically by all relevant authorities.”

Her trip to Guatemala was organized by the Foreign Ministry and is overseen by deputy director-general Modi Ephraim, who heads the ministry’s Latin American and Caribbean Division. Prime Minister Netanyahu is also the acting foreign minister.

Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman joined the prime minister’s wife on the trip.

Responding to a Times of Israel query on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office said accommodation and transportation in Guatemala would be paid by the Guatemalan government. Other expenses would be calculated at the end of the visit and “in line with regulations,” it said.

“Every year the Foreign Ministry and other ministries fund the trips of Israeli citizens, including artists, writers, and athletes, to represent Israel,” it noted.

“The [Guatemalan] president’s wife noted in her official invitation that this is a historic visit that will serve as a symbol of the friendship between the two countries and the strengthening of their mutual commitment,” the PMO stated.

Upon arriving at Guatemala’s international airport, Netanyahu was greeted by Israel’s Ambassador Mattanya Cohen and Guatemala’s Deputy Foreign Minister Jairo Estrada, and was treated to a short musical performance.

???????????????????? La Señora Sara Netanyahu, esposa del Primer Ministro de Israel, Benjamín Netanyahu, a su arribo al Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora, toma unos minutos para deleitarse del sonido de las notas de nuestro bello Instrumento Nacional -La Marimba-. Bienvenida a Guatemala. pic.twitter.com/ErFLAEPPEf

— DGAC Guatemala (@guatemala_dgac) December 10, 2018

In Guatemala, Sara Netanyahu is scheduled to participate in several events marking Israeli assistance to the country and to meet local Jewish community leaders.

“I am very moved to leave tonight on a very important mission to Guatemala, at the invitation of my friend, the wife of the Guatemalan president, and together with our delegation, I hope to represent Israel with honor,” Sara Netanyahu said in a Hebrew clip posted by the prime minister’s official Twitter account early Monday morning, standing next to her husband.

Cohen, Israel’s envoy to the Central American country, called the visit “historic” in an interview with the country’s state-owned news agency AGN.

“It is a historic visit because [Sara Netanyahu] has never traveled alone and, as an ambassador, I am very happy and very proud because it shows the true friendship between the two countries, the two leaders and the wives,” Cohen said.

Netanyahu, who joins her husband on nearly all his foreign trips, was personally invited to Guatemala by the wife of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, Patricia Marroquín de Morales, in the aftermath of a meeting of their husbands in September in New York.

The Guatemalan president’s wife welcomed Netanyahu upon her arrival, tweeting, “Welcome to Guatemala Sara Netanyahu, Guatemala greets you with open arms.”

Bienvenida a Guatemala Sara Netanyahu, Guatemala te recibe con los brazos abiertos. ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/HYltNAnYx3

— Patricia de Morales (@patydemoralesGT) December 10, 2018

“As part of the visit, the prime minister’s wife and the Israeli delegation were invited to participate in an official event about drinking water and natural disaster relief, in light of the assistance Israel provided to Guatemala after the disaster of the Volcán de Fuego eruption six months ago,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office read.

After a June 3 series of volcanic explosions at the Volcán de Fuego, which killed nearly 200 people, Israel offered medical and logistical aid.

The Israeli delegation will participate in a cornerstone ceremony for the reconstruction of a village destroyed in the tragedy, according to the PMO. Israel helped in the construction of houses for the victims.

Other Israeli government aid to Guatemala, including medical assistance for children, will be announced during Netanyahu’s visit, the statement said.

According to AGN, Morales and Netanyahu will meet with the local Jewish communities during a breakfast the National Palace of Culture and attend a meeting with alumni of the Israel Agency for International Development Cooperation, known as Mashav.

On Tuesday, the two leaders’ wives will participate in the launch of a deworming campaign for children, according to AGN.

“In recent years there has been a significant tightening of relations between Israel and Guatemala, which was reflected in the visit of the Guatemalan president to Israel [in May], which reached its pinnacle in the transfer of the Guatemalan embassy to Jerusalem,” the Israeli PMO’s statement said.

The delegation’s visit will further strengthen the “special relations between the two countries “and carries great diplomatic importance.”

Sara Netanyahu, an educational psychologist who is embroiled in several corruption cases, has been involved in social projects in Israel, including with lone soldiers and Holocaust survivors.