‘Enough food for a football team’: Israel’s first lady Sara Netanyahu to be indicted over her lavish spending on catering
Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the attorney general’s statement in a Facebook post, blaming the inflated spending on his former housekeeper
Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is likely to be indicted on fraud-related charges in a case that peers into spending on catered meals and lifestyle in the official residence, a statement by Israel’s attorney general said on Friday.
The investigation – called the “meals ordering affair” – alleges the prime minister’s wife and the head of the operational resources unit in the official residence falsified documents so food from outside companies and private chefs could be used, even though there was a full-time chef.
The statement by the attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, said Netanyahu is suspected of diverting some US$102,000 in public funds for this use.
Netanyahu was told that she would be able to make final arguments in the case before the state attorney issues a possible indictment, which could lead to a trial. No date has been set for such a hearing, however.
Both during Benjamin Netanyahu’s first term as prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and since taking office in 2009, his wife has come under scrutiny for her perceived opulent lifestyle, often being portrayed by the local media as a kind of Marie Antoinette.
Who ate or took huge quantity of food, enough for a football team? Certainly not the Netanyahu family
Last year, a former housekeeper at the official residence successfully sued the couple for abusive treatment, winning about US$43,735 in damages. During his testimony, Meni Naftali revealed intimate details about Sara Netanyahu’s lifestyle, including her taste for pink champagne and other luxuries.