Sara Netanyahu suspected of political harassment, AG orders probe

Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and a witness in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara made the announcement on Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the Uvda investigation into Sara Netanyahu.

The probe uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs. Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organise protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial.

The announcement did not mention Mrs. Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined to make any further comment.

The Uvda report obtained correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Hanni Bleiweiss, a former aide to the prime minister who died of cancer last year.

The messages indicated that Sara Netanyahu, through Bleiweiss, encouraged police to crack down violently on anti-government protesters and ordered Bleiweiss to organise protests against her husband’s critics.

She also told Bleiweiss to get activists in Netanyahu’s Likud party to publish attacks on Klein.

Klein is an aide to billionaire Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and has testified in the corruption case about her role in delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of champagne, cigars and gifts to Netanyahu for her boss.

According to the report, Bleiweiss also was instructed to organise demonstrations outside the homes of the lead prosecutor in the corruption case, Liat Ben-Ari, and then Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who had issued the indictments, and protests and social media campaigns smearing political opponents.

According to the report, Bleiweiss was a loyal aid to Netanyahu for decades. But while she was ill, it said Sara Netanyahu mistreated her, prompting her to share the messages with a reporter shortly before her death.

Sara Netanyahu has been accused of abusive behaviour toward her personal staff before. This, together with accusations of excessive spending and using public money for her own extravagant personal tastes, has earned her an image as being out of touch with everyday Israelis.

In 2019, she was fined for misusing state funds.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees police and has repeatedly said the attorney general, Baharav-Miara should be fired over a series of grievances against her, said the latest announcement was another reason for her to be dismissed.

“Someone who politically persecutes government ministers and their families cannot continue to serve as the attorney general,” he said.

In a video released on Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu listed what he said were the many kind and charitable acts by his wife and blasted the Uvda report as “lies.”

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“My opponents on the left and in the media found a new-old target. They mercilessly attack my wife, Sara,” he said.

He called the programme “false propaganda, nasty propaganda that brings up lies from the darkness.”

Legal troubles

It’s the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus, highlighted by the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favours with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates.

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Netanyahu denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.