Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara has been facing accusations of yelling at, insulting and mistreating household staff at the premier's residence for more than 25 years.
The daily Yedioth Ahronoth said it examined dozens of testimonies and lawsuits involving former employees, with accusations ranging from verbal abuse and humiliation to excessive work demands.
Some of the accusations resulted in court rulings awarding compensation, while others were settled or dismissed. Sara Netanyahu and her lawyers have repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as part of "a media campaign" and attempts to extract money from the state.
Among the latest allegations was a complaint by Yehiel Ohav Ami, 61, who worked at the prime minister's residence over the past year. He confirmed that he was "subjected to yelling, insults and humiliation and was once ordered to clean the kitchen floor while crawling."
He also said that Sara Netanyahu wished him cancer and death and, after claiming that he had autism, told him: "I am the No. 1 psychiatrist in the country, and I have no competition."
Netanyahu's office rejected the accusations, calling them "another attempt to manufacture an extortion of money from the state by defaming the prime minister's wife."
Sara also sued Ami, alleging that he illegally photographed the prime minister's residence and violated her privacy.
The newspaper also cited the case of Meni Naftali, a former manager of the prime minister's residence who sued Netanyahu's office over his working conditions.
In February 2016, the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court awarded Naftali 170,000 shekels ($56,670), finding that he had been subjected to abusive working conditions at the residence as a result of Sara Netanyahu's conduct toward employees.
The ruling was issued against the state and other parties to the lawsuit, not Sara personally.
In another case, maintenance worker Guy Eliyahu received compensation in 2016 after the court upheld much of his claim that he had worked in an environment marked by fear, yelling, reprimands and humiliation.
Eliyahu said he was once forced to return home after midnight simply to heat a bowl of soup for Sara Netanyahu. On another occasion, he said he had to return to tell her "Good night." He also said he sometimes worked as many as 19 hours a day.
Chef Eti Haim told the newspaper that Sara Netanyahu struck her hand after she opened a cabinet before washing her hands, describing the incident as "a punch on the hand."
Haim also claimed that Sara Netanyahu yelled at employees, pulled tablecloths from tables and ordered them to be rearranged within minutes. Sara denied the allegations.
Shira Raban, a 24-year-old religious cleaning worker, sued Sara after alleging that she was subjected to yelling and humiliation and felt like a "maid."
In her testimony, Raban said Sara would run toward female employees "waving her hands, screaming and pulling her hair," causing them to fear that she might physically attack them.
The Labor Court rejected Raban's lawsuit in February 2022, finding that she had failed to prove that she had been mistreated and that her account was not credible.
Another employee, Sylvie Gansia, filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging that Sara Netanyahu yelled at and insulted her and threw an iron in her direction.
The court did not rule on the truth of those allegations. The lawsuit was later dismissed after Gansia failed to submit the required legal filings. In a separate lawsuit brought by Sara Netanyahu, Gansia was ordered to pay about 100,000 shekels ($33,340), plus legal costs.
In 2024, the Labor Court ruled in favor of three former employees of the prime minister's residence and ordered Netanyahu's office to pay them about 900,000 shekels ($300,000) over labor-rights violations, including unpaid overtime and work on Saturdays and holidays.
Two of the employees described themselves as "modern-day slaves." The compensation, however, was ordered against the Prime Minister's Office as their employer, rather than Sara Netanyahu personally.
In April, another employee filed a lawsuit alleging that Sara threw pieces of tomatoes and olives at her while she was preparing breakfast after becoming angry about the amount of onions, tomatoes and olives on the plate.
The employee said that the incident occurred in front of Netanyahu himself.
The case was later resolved through a confidential settlement with the staffing company. The employee received tens of thousands of shekels, but no court ruling established that the incident had occurred.
