J'lem municipality reveals PM's wife worked 60 monthly hours in 2016
Document reveals Mrs. Netanyahu worked 60.1 monthly hours as child psychologist in 2016—less than half-time—with her position officially changing to third-time in September; most monthly hours were 99.25 in March and least were 21.25 in August.
The Jerusalem municipality unveiled the scope of employment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, as an educational child psychologist in public service, revealing she worked an average of 60.1 hours a month the past year.
The report also showed starting September 1, 2016, Mrs. Netanyahu's employment scope changed from a half-time position to third-time.
Disclosure of the employment details came following the District Court's ruling on a plea submitted by journalist Ben Caspit.
March 2016 saw the highest number of work hours, 99.25, whereas August of the same year saw lowest: 21.25 hours.
The document released by the municipality stated her work hours "do not include justified absences."
A full-time position in Israel entails 186 hours, which comes to 43 hours a week. A half-time position, then, requires about 93 monthly hours, whereas Mrs. Netanyahu's average was lower than half.
The Jerusalem municipality's initial position was that disclosing any information would harm Mrs. Netanyahu's right to privacy, and so refused to do so. Moreover, it claimed divulging the information would also harm the wellbeing and security of not only Mrs. Netanyahu but her coworkers as well.
Netanyahu herself claimed the request should be denied because the person making it was Caspit, who has a heated personal rivalry with her that she said amounted to "persecution."
The petition's goal, she claimed, was to harm her husband, the prime minister, and her. Judge Arnon Darel rejected the claim of any ulterior motives behind the plea, however.
"The fact the subject of this petition isn't any 'regular' employee like the thousands of the municipality's other employees mustn't be ignored. Apart from her job, she's also a well-known public figure," the judge wrote.
"While that a person being the spouse of someone in a high-ranking public position, such as prime minister or minister, isn't enough to justify a breach of their right to privacy, in the matter of Mrs. Netanyahu circumstances are different and striking a balance would be partially disclosing information relating to her," Darel added.
"The facts of the case reveal the respondent (Mrs. Netanyahu) makes her employment as educational psychologist well known in interviews she gives as well as in different publications initiated by either her or the prime minister," Darel explained. "Under these circumstances, where she and the prime minister make public use of her professional employment, there is justification to disclose information pertaining to her employment."
