Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office on Sunday hit back at reports skewering him and his family for spending large sums of taxpayer money to bankroll extravagant household expenses, claiming the incumbent premier's expenditure dwarves in comparison to that of his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to an inquiry published Saturday on Hebrew-language media, the Bennetts are said to spend on average some NIS 50,000 ($15,500) a month on their private expenses, including NIS 11,500 (over $3500) on fast food orders alone. That sum does not include security and staff wages.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
Bennett's office said the family spent that much on takeouts since they do not use cooking services at their private residence in Ra'anana — their temporary dwelling until renovations at the official prime minister's residence in Jerusalem are complete. Works have been on hold for months, owing to a strike at the Defense Ministry.
The statement also said that although the prime minister can hire up to eight house employees at a total monthly cost of NIS 102,000 (around $31,500), the Bennetts currently employ just three staff members at a total monthly cost of NIS 48,000 (around $15,000). In comparison, it said, the staff cap was "fully exhausted" most of Netanyahu's term.
Bennett's office also claimed that his monthly expenses totaled NIS 87,700 (around $27,000), while Netanyahu and his family's expenses at the Jerusalem official residence and their private home in Caesarea were triple that at NIS 262,100 (around $81,000). However, the former does not include the expenses at the Jerusalem residence which is still used in a professional capacity.
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Security vehicles parking outside Bennett's private residence in Ra'anana
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
The expenditure breakdown is based on an annual average calculation for the years 2019-2020 compared to a monthly average since Bennett took office June last year.
On top of staff wages, the Bennetts spent NIS 15,000 ($4,600) on cleaning and maintenance and NIS 24,700 ($7,600) on takeouts. Meanwhile, the Netanyahus spent NIS 102,000 ($31,600) on staff wages in both Jerusalem and Caesarea, NIS 141,800 ($44,000) on maintenance, and NIS 37,300 ($11,500) on food.
"In each of the parameters, the expenses of the Bennett household are significantly lower than those of his predecessor's," the statement read. "In annual calculation, the household will save NIS 2,092,800 (around $650,000) for the state coffers."
Bennett's office also said that some NIS 38,00 ($11,800) were spent on flowers alone during Netanyahu's time in office while the incumbent spent nothing on the same. Other expenses included NIS 12,000 ($3,720) for water, compared to NIS 81,000 ($25,110) under Netanyahu, NIS 42,000 ($13,000) for electricity compared to NIS 171,000, and NIS 170,000 ($53,000) for cleaning compared to NIS 865,500 ($268,300).
Netanyahu's Likud Party dismissed the claims, accusing Bennett of lying by omission and failing to mention media reports about renovations taking place at his private home in Ra'anana to the tune of NIS 50 million ($15.5 million) and questioned their legality.
Bennett's office rejected the alleged figure earlier this month and pegged the cost of the works at NIS 13-15 million ($4-4.6 million) for the installation of necessary security and communications infrastructure rather than a revamp of the residence.
The Likud statement also mentioned that a corruption investigation into the Netanyahu family's dining expenses found that most of the costs covered official settings while the family itself did not spend over NIS 1,300 ($400) a month on food.