Benjamin Netanyahu's Wife Officially Charged with 'Corruption, Fraud, and Breach of Oath'

The wife of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, was officially charged on Thursday, June 21, with 'corruption, fraud, and breach of oath.' According to Israeli media reports, the indictment against Sara Netanyahu was submitted to the Jerusalem court after lengthy discussions and investigations in the case known as 'the residences.' Mrs. Netanyahu is accused of ordering food from expensive restaurants in Jerusalem amounting to at least 350,000 shekels (approximately $100,000) over three years and forcing the head of the Prime Minister's Office staff to write the bills for the ordered food as 'official Prime Minister's residence expenses.' This was done while public funds were used for these orders, despite the Prime Minister's residence having an official chef. Mrs. Netanyahu is also accused of managing her personal homes and the Prime Minister's residence under the official residence account and 'misusing' professionals for repairs on her family's personal residences. Over the past nine months, the team of lawyers for the Prime Minister's wife attempted to reach a settlement, with Mrs. Netanyahu agreeing to pay some of the costs to avoid trial. However, Avichai Mandelblit, the chief legal advisor to the Israeli government, ultimately agreed to present the indictment against her. Additionally, an indictment was issued against Ezra Saidoff, the head of the Prime Minister's Office staff, for 'breach of oath' and 'forgery' of invoices to help cover up the actions of the Prime Minister's wife; Mr. Saidoff's lawyers have denied the allegations. Nir Hefetz, a former advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu, who has recently become a witness in investigations against the Prime Minister in several corruption cases, has testified against the Prime Minister's wife. Sara Netanyahu, 59, was suspected of abusing her position during her husband's first term as Prime Minister in the early 2000s and has been repeatedly accused of mistreating staff and servants in the Prime Minister's Office over the past nine years. There have also been suspicions that she misused staff from the Prime Minister's Office to care for her elderly father. Many of these cases have led to counter-complaints, and Mrs. Netanyahu has received financial compensation from a journalist who accused her. Israeli media recently aired a recording of a phone conversation from several years ago in which Sara Netanyahu was heard yelling at a family advisor for not stating in an interview that she is a psychologist. Mrs. Netanyahu's voice was also recorded during Donald Trump's visit to Israel, where she told Mrs. Trump at the airport that they, like her, are subject to constant media accusations, but ordinary people love them. As Mrs. Netanyahu is set to go on trial, Benjamin Netanyahu is also suspected of receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels in expensive gifts from billionaire friends in one of three investigative cases opened against him. In this context, the Prime Minister of Israel has been interrogated regarding a case involving the purchase of submarines from Germany.