Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first appearance on the witness stand in his protracted trial on corruption accusations Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. However, Netanyahu had been plagued by a string of humiliating incidents and accusations long before these claims surfaced.
Netanyahu has angrily and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and criticized inquiries into his or his family’s behavior as witch hunts carried out by a biased legal system and hostile media.
Since he started to control Israel’s political landscape, Netanyahu, his family, and his advisors have been embroiled in a number of scandals.
Suspicions from below
Netanyahu’s close associates are suspected of accepting bribes to move forward with an agreement to buy German submarines and other vessels. In that situation, Netanyahu is not a suspect. However, earlier this year, a state committee of inquiry into the issue warned the prime minister in a letter that the findings could be detrimental to him.
The committee presented a picture of poor decision-making at several levels in the military, the defense system, and the government, but it did not delve into specifics about the charges against Netanyahu. He denies any misconduct.
Documents that were altered and leaked
A representative for the Israeli leader has been accused of providing German tabloid Bild with confidential material that allegedly jeopardized Israel’s interests and security during the conflict. Netanyahu has not been charged with any misconduct.
According to critics, the purpose of the leak was to reduce public pressure on Netanyahu to negotiate an agreement to free the hostages held by the terrorists and to shift public opinion more in support of his negotiation stances with Hamas. Another Netanyahu adviser is under investigation for falsifying documents, a move that detractors claim was taken to shield Netanyahu from further inquiries into his actions during the conflict.
Large expenditures
Netanyahu spent almost $600,000 of public cash on a six-day trip to New York in 2016, including $1,600 for a personal hairdresser, according to an official expenditure report. He faced criticism three years prior for using public monies to pay $127,000 for a special sleeping compartment on a five-hour flight to London. Netanyahu stopped the practice, claiming he had no idea how much it cost. Additionally, he was compelled to cease buying ice cream from a Jerusalem-based artisanal shop after it was revealed that his office had incurred a $2,700 cost for his preferred flavors, vanilla and pistachio.
Even though she already had cooks on the government payroll, his wife Sara has also been accused of embezzling about $100,000 in public monies to book opulent meals from celebrity chefs at the prime minister’s official residence. As part of a plea bargain, she consented to pay $15,000 for misusing public funds.
The Netanyahus also came under fire for allegedly using public funds to pay for Sara Netanyahu’s late father’s medical bills and to furnish their own beach property. In the end, the attorney general rejected the accusations.
Taking off in the air
During his tenure as opposition leader and finance minister in the 2000s, Netanyahu was suspected of using governmental funds to pay for personal travel and double invoicing travel charges. The attorney general dismissed the lawsuit following a protracted investigation.
Unhappy home
Sara Netanyahu has been accused of abusive behavior and explosive outbursts by Netanyahu’s household staff on numerous occasions.
The family’s nanny said that Netanyahu’s wife dismissed her for setting a pot of vegetable soup on fire during his first term as prime minister. The young woman claimed that after being ejected from the family’s house without her passport or clothes, she was told to retrieve her possessions that had been left outside the front gate. According to Netanyahu’s office, the woman’s violent outbursts were the reason for her termination.
In lawsuits alleging Sara Netanyahu’s abusive behavior, two domestic helpers have been awarded damages. One domestic worker received more over $42,000 in damages from a Jerusalem court in 2016. Both Netanyahu and his spouse have denied the charges. In 2018, a phone recording of the prime minister’s wife yelling at her publicist for failing to disclose her educational background in a gossip column came to light.
A joyride
A recording of Netanyahu’s eldest son, Yair, driving a taxpayer-funded government car to Tel Aviv strip clubs with his extremely wealthy friends while intoxicated surfaced in 2018. Later on, he expressed regret.
Over the years, the 33-year-old Netanyahu has also generated controversy for his provocative and obscene social media posts, including a caricature he published that referenced traditional antisemitic stereotypes. His account was momentarily suspended by Facebook when he expressed his preference for an Israel free of Muslims.
A mistress’s leak
There were reports in the 1990s that there was a film showing Netanyahu and his image consultant, Ruth Bar, who was married, in compromising intimate settings. Even though the tape was never found, Netanyahu responded by confessing to infidelity on air.
Impact peddling
Netanyahu was suspected of giving a loyalist the position of attorney general in the 1990s during his first time in government in return for electoral backing from the ultra-religious Shas party. Despite calling Netanyahu’s actions “puzzling,” the prosecution decided to close the case due to a lack of evidence.
Pocket lining
Netanyahu and his spouse were suspected of embezzling gifts and foreign contributions from international leaders that were deemed state property during that same term in government. Additionally, the Netanyahus were suspected of taking a contractor’s favors. Charges were dropped in both cases.
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