Sara Netanyahu to be indicted by AG Mandelblit
AG Mandelblit is to serve Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara with an indictment on Friday, over suspicions of her fraudulently receiving goods under aggravated circumstances; PM Netanyahu defends his wife over his Facebook page, writing that 'Sara Netanyahu is a courageous and honest woman, and her actions have never been without merit.'
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is set to inform Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara, that she is to be indicted in the dormitory affair on Friday. Mrs. Netanyahu will be charged with the offense of fraudulently receiving goods under aggravated circumstances.
Mandelblit announced his decision following the completion of a police investigation that strengthened the original recommendation of the Jerusalem District Attorney and the State Attorney to indict Mrs. Netanyahu.
Both the prime minister and his wife have called Attorney Yossi Cohen in for an emergency meeting regarding Friday's indictment.
Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to the indictment's announcement on his Facebook page. "The allegations against the prime minister's wife are absurd and will prove to be false.
"Sara Netanyahu is a courageous and honest woman, and her actions have never been without merit. In addition to her weekly work as an educational psychologist and child care expert, she spends a great deal of time helping children with cancer, Holocaust survivors and lone soldiers.
The statement on Netanyahu's Facebook page then veered somewhat off-topic, focusing instead on the prime minister's past accusations against Meni Naftali, who used to work as a caretaker at the Prime Minister's Residence who sued the Netanyahu couple for mistreatment.
"The steep increase in meal expenses at the Prime Minister's Residence was caused by offenses committed by the problematic Meni Nafatli, who is a serial liar and a criminal state witness. The average monthly expenditure on meals ordered during the period Naftali served as of the maintenance head (at the Prime Minister's Residence—ed) was five times (!) higher than the monthly average of the next four years, when Naftali did not work there. That just says it all.
"The very preoccupation with the food (eaten by) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who works around the clock for the sake of the state and its security, and that (eaten by) his family, is pathetic and obsessive. No prime minister has ever garnered such nosiness, even though the expenses of other prime ministers on meals were identical, and sometimes even higher. How long will this obsessive preoccupation with the Netanyahu family last?"
Immediately after Passover, the District Attorney's Office recommended that the allegations against Mrs. Netanyahu be considered by the court, in accordance to the evidence found and the police's recommendations from a year ago, which led to the general conclusion that Netanyahu be indicted. The police has already stated that there is a sufficient evidentiary basis to prosecute Netanyahu and three members of her staff who allegedly provided her services.
The indictment deals with the employment of a caregiver for Sara Netanyahu's late father, whose cost was allegedly paid for by the state. It also involves the Netanyahu family's employment of electrician Eli Fahima for private jobs, on suspicions that the cost of meals at the Prime Minister's Residence were inflated, and that the guest lists at various functions at the residence were also inflated beyond their actual expenses, without Mrs. Netanyahu paying for them herself.
According to the suspicions, Mrs. Netanyahu ordered extravagant meals from restaurants and chefs amounting to a total cost of around NIS 400,000 of public funds.
Naftali, for his part, responded to reports of Friday's indictment by saying, "I feel that if the accusations will only mention the meals, it's a trick to show that the attorney general is at work, but that it will only help Sara Netanyahu get out of everything. I'm not looking for revenge."
The Netanyahus' alleged purchasing of patio furniture for the Netanyahus' private house in Caesarea at the expense of the state, is not to be included in Mrs. Netanyahu's indictment, as she has since returned said patio furniture to the Prime Minister's Residence.
