Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrives at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court for the start of her trial on October 7, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)
The State Prosecutor’s Office agreed Monday to a one-day postponement of a plea bargain that would see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, pay a fine and avoid jail time in the so-called catering case.
Although a deal had been reached, Sara Netanyahu’s attorney, Yossi Cohen, was granted an extra 24-hours to propose last-minute amendments.
Cohen had petitioned the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem, saying Netanyahu’s legal team “needs a brief extension of one day to clarify and sharpen her positions regarding the emerging plea bargain.”
Under the terms of the deal, reached two weeks ago, Netanyahu would escape a fraud conviction, but admit to a lesser charge and pay NIS 55,000 ($15,210) to the state. Last year, she and Ezra Saidoff, a former caretaker at the Prime Minister’s Residence, were charged with fraud and breach of trust for spending $100,000 of state funds on catered meals, while there was a full-time chef on staff.
Illustrative. US Vice President Joe Biden (2L), his wife Jill, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his wife Sara (R) attend a dinner at the Prime Minister’s Residence, in Jerusalem on March 9, 2010. (Miriam Alster/ FLASH90)
The residence is not permitted to order prepared food if a chef is present. The two allegedly misrepresented the chef’s presence between September 2010 and March 2013, in order to claim state funds to order meals.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Sara Netanyahu’s trial is separate from her husband’s legal woes, which revolve around suspicions that the prime minister accepted illicit gifts, took bribes, and tried to arrange favors for media barons in exchange for positive press coverage.
Sara Netanyahu was a suspect in one of those cases, but prosecutors did not recommend that she face charges.
Advertisement
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this,please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
