State rejects Sara Netanyahu’s bid to remove judge who ruled against her
Attorney for PM’s wife says court has ‘made up its mind’ even before hearing second case of alleged employee abuse

The state on Wednesday rejected a request by an attorney for Sara Netanyahu for the dismissal of the judge in an upcoming case in which the prime minister’s wife is accused of mistreating employees at the premier’s official residence.
The request is based on the fact that Judge Dita Proginin previously ruled against Mrs. Netanyahu in a separate case on abuse of staff. Earlier this month, her court awarded former Netanyahu caretaker Menny Naftali a sum of NIS 170,000 (about $43,735) in damages, accepting his claims of mistreatment by Mrs. Netanyahu during his employment at the Prime Minister’s Residence.
Yossi Cohen, Sara Netanyahu’s lawyer, asked that Proginin, who is president of the National Labor Court, be removed from the case brought by a second former housekeeper, Guy Eliyahu, as she had ruled in favor of Naftali.
“The court’s mind is already made up,” Cohen alleged.
However, the state said in a statement that there are no grounds to dismiss Proginin from the second case.

Sara Netanyahu filed an appeal at the National Labor Court in Jerusalem in late February against the Naftali ruling, which was leveled against the state-owned residence and not her specifically.
In her appeal, the prime minister’s wife maintained that since she was not named a defendant in the original case, she was not given a chance to defend herself.

Despite this, she argued, the court decision maligned her and focused much attention on her behavior. Mrs. Netanyahu testified in the case in May 2015, accusing Naftali and the media of waging a concerted campaign against her.
Her attorneys wrote that Naftali “lied,” and accused the former housekeeper of having a history of violent behavior, including during his army service.
They also alleged that Naftali’s wife received subsidized housing because she was registered as a single mother, even though the two were living together at the time, the Walla news website reported.
“It’s amazing to see how Mrs. Netanyahu continues to bash Menny Naftali in every way possible, and bothers the citizens of Israel with this never-ending saga,” Naftali’s attorney said in response to the appeal.