Israeli AG orders probe into accusations against Netanyahu's wife
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The report says Sara Netanyahu ordered a former aide of her husband to crack down on anti-government protesters and organize protests outside the residences of key figures in the PM's corruption case.
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Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara gesture after the first exit poll results for the Israeli Parliamentary election at his party’s headquarters in al-Quds, on November 2022 (AP)
The Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has ordered an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, over allegations of harassment toward political opponents and a key witness in the Prime Minister’s corruption trial.
The probe follows a report by the investigative program Uvda, which revealed WhatsApp messages in which Sara Netanyahu instructed a former Netanyahu aide to organize protests against political adversaries and intimidate Hadas Klein, a crucial witness in the trial.
The Attorney General’s brief statement did not directly mention Sara Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined to comment further.
However, in a video released Thursday, Prime Minister Netanyahu defended his wife, highlighting what he called her numerous “kind and charitable acts,” and condemned the Uvda report as “lies”.
He called the Uvda program ”false propaganda, nasty propaganda that brings up lies from the darkness.”
A corrupt family and its latest scandal
This scandal was the most recent in a long string of legal issues for the Netanyahus, which are exemplified by the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial. The two have also had a tense relationship with the Israeli media.
In a number of cases, Netanyahu is accused of exchanging favors with wealthy associates and powerful media moguls, as well as of accepting bribes.
Netanyahu disputes the accusations and claims he is the target of a "witch hunt" by overzealous prosecutors, police, and the media.
The report included correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Hanni Bleiweiss, a former prime minister's aide who passed away from cancer last year.
It mentioned that, through messages, Sara ordered Bleiweiss to crack down violently on anti-government protesters and organize protests outside the residences of key figures in the corruption case, including lead prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari and former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who had filed the indictments against the Israeli Prime Minister.
Additionally, she was tasked with coordinating protests and social media campaigns targeting political adversaries.
The Uvda report further noted that Bleiweiss had been a dedicated aide to Netanyahu for decades. However, during her illness, Sara Netanyahu reportedly mistreated her, which led Bleiweiss to share the intimidating WhatsApp messages with a reporter just before her passing.
Read more: Protesters surround Netanyahu's wife outside a salon
