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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hugs his wife, Sara Netanyahu, after being rescued by police forces from being surrounded by protesters at a posh salon in Tel Aviv, Wednesday night. Photo/Twitter @netanyahu
TEL AVIV – The wife of the Prime Minister (PM) of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu Sara Netanyahu, was surrounded by local demonstrators while dressing up in a luxurious salon in Tel Aviv.
The incident on Wednesday night turned into the scene of a national emergency after riot police forces swept through the crowd of protesters to rescue the wife of the Israeli regime leader.
The siege of the beauty salon by the protesters was accompanied by “shameful, shameful” jeers, highlighting Netanyahu’s wife, a divisive figure long linked to her husband’s political career.
Sara Netanyahu has been derided for her reputation for living a lavish lifestyle at taxpayer expense — an image reinforced by her decision to get her hair done in the center of the city that was first hit by riots last Wednesday night.
The demonstrators accuse Sara Netanyahu, a former flight attendant turned educational psychologist, of exerting undue influence over Netanyahu, pressuring him over political appointments and policy issues.
This is what made Netanyahu’s wife so controversial in her roughly three decades on the political scene.
Netanyahu’s wife is a big spender
Sara Netanyahu, 64, has made sensational headlines over the years for allegedly misusing public funds, overspending on household expenses and pocketing gifts from world leaders.
In 2019, he accepted a plea bargain to settle allegations that he misappropriated $100,000 in public funds to order extravagant meals from celebrity chefs at the prime minister’s official residence, even though he already had a cook on the government payroll. He has also been entangled in Netanyahu’s alleged corruption trial, which has fueled the country’s years-long political crisis.
In exchange for political favours, Netanyahu allegedly accepted gifts from billionaire friends that included tens of thousands of dollars in champagne cases and lavish jewelery for Sara Netanyahu, and struck backroom deals with newspaper publishers aimed at getting more favorable coverage of his wife.
Netanyahu denies all blame. Recently, Parliamentary committees approved new spending money for the Netanyahu family, including thousands of dollars each year in the cost of clothing and make-up for the Israeli prime minister’s wife.
