Moral bankruptcy in the Israeli PM’s residence

It is still not too late for Sara Netanyahu’s lawyers to strike a plea bargain with the prosecutors in her corruption trial that opened this month. The main obstacle in reaching such an agreement is Netanyahu herself, as the Israeli prime minister’s wife is refusing to accept that she is capable of any wrongdoing. Her less-than-reasonable behavior has already led to the resignation of two of her defense lawyers. It is now left for the court to decide whether the indictment against her, of fraud and breach of trust, merits conviction. However, whatever the verdict in court, this case, as others in which the Netanyahus are investigated, opens a window on a greedy family who flagrantly expects the state and friends, with (or without) vested interests, to payroll a hedonistic way of life.

Many political opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from all quarters of the political map in Israel, believe the legal route will be the likeliest and quickest route to oust him from his position. Otherwise, they fear he will remain in power for the foreseeable future. Because of the volatile nature of Sara Netanyahu’s character, it is she who poses the main threat to her case in court; and worse for her husband is that, if she is convicted, she may decide to spill the beans on him too.

There is no schadenfreude in seeing her before the court, because at this point there is hardly a happy ending for the country in this saga, whether she is convicted or acquitted. The more we learn about her behavior, the more it becomes transparent that she is someone who needs help and support, and surely away from the heart of decision-making in the country. 

It is worth reminding ourselves that this is not her first brush with the law. She has already been found guilty, two years ago, of “abusive” and “humiliating” treatment of an employee, resulting in her having to pay a maintenance worker hefty damages. The judge in that case described the atmosphere of working with her as one of constant fear. Time and again, accusations of insults, raging at household staff and creating an abusive working environment at the Israeli prime minister’s official residence are surfacing. 

Last year, an audio recording emerged of Netanyahu furiously reprimanding her family publicist over a gossip column that she claimed had failed to pay her enough respect by omitting her professional qualifications, as if it was his fault. Her uncontrollable screaming down the phone was alarming and suggested that she was incapable of controlling her temper. This was one of the rare occasions when the prime minister couldn’t deny the facts, and the only defense he could come up with was posting on his Facebook page that everyone “gets angry and says a few words that he didn’t mean.” This might be true, but not everyone comes across, as in the case of this recording, as being that troubled. 

The impression she gives is of someone who cannot cope with living constantly in the limelight and partnering the most powerful person in the country. Her behavior reveals the state of mind of someone who is deeply frustrated by what she believes is a lack of recognition by the public, and who has a highly developed siege mentality vis-a-vis the media and the family’s political enemies.

To be sure, the role of a prime minister’s spouse in Israel, as in many other countries, is not clearly defined, and depends to a large extent on the couple’s personalities and the relations between them. In the case of Netanyahu, the mixture of her unpredictable temperament, the history of her relations with her husband and the “us against the world” mentality of both of them has led to her playing a much more influential role in the country’s political life than should be expected of someone who has never been elected by the public, and severe doubts about her judgment persist. 

For years it has been clear that her antipathy toward candidates for key governmental positions has had a huge and usually detrimental impact on their selection or their chances of promotion. Worse, she and the couple’s oldest son, Yair, who expresses vile ultra-right opinions against journalists and non-governmental organizations that dare to criticize his father’s government, have considerable influence on the prime minister’s decisions. 

Netanyahu’s current court case has revolved around excessive spending on private catering at the prime minister’s residence, much of it to entertain guests. Under Israeli law, if there is a cook in the PM’s residence, as was the case, then prepared food must not be ordered. The Netanyahus’ spending of state funds for catering reached the sum of 359,000 shekels ($98,000) in the space of four years between 2009 and 2013, which the prosecution argues was illegal. 

She allegedly didn’t stop at this, but also used state funds to pay waiters to serve the meals on weekends and during private meals, while concealing their illegal employment by registering them as “extra manpower” or “cleaners.” It is not only the legality of her behavior that is on the line, but also the morality of her excesses that has come into question; for instance, in allegations regarding her consumption of abundant quantities of pink Champagne in a country where one in every three children lives in poverty. 

The legal proceedings against Netanyahu have just started, but the moral bankruptcy and lack of judgment that run as a leitmotif through all the investigations against the family have been laid bare for everyone to see. One suspects that, if she is convicted or talked into a plea bargain that includes an admission of criminal guilt, she might take the prime minister down with her. After all, the other investigations into their affairs are of an even more serious nature.

• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. Twitter: @YMekelberg