Barak's wife admits she employed foreign worker
Yedioth Ahronoth reports Nili Priell secretly questioned Sunday on suspicion of illegally employing Filipino woman. Senior officials say defense minister may also be probed
The Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Tuesday morning that Priell was secretly interrogated and that senior Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry officials have said the defense minister himself may be the next person to be questioned.
Priell arrived at the offices of a joint Industry, Trade and Labor and Interior ministries unit and was questioned for about an hour. According to the report, she admitted that she had employed a foreign worker, but claimed she did not know the woman did not have a work permit.
A senior Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry source said that "Priell's investigation is only the beginning. It’s possible that Barak will also be questioned and we will ask that he be summoned for an interrogation.
According to the source, the ministry may ask for the attorney general to approve Barak's investigation.
"There are only two cases in which he won't be probed: If he can prove that he never knew there was a foreign worker in his house and never saw her, and that's unlikely, or if he admits everything in advance."
The migrant workers unit investigators have been engaging in the affair for the past few days. They have consulted the ministries' legal advisors, as this is a sensitive matter which allegedly involves a minister. As a first stage, the investigators decided to hold an extensive inquiry, which would include locating the foreign worker and listening to Priell's version.
The defense minister's spouse is suspected of employing a foreign worker without a permit. If the suspicions prove to be true, the couple will be forced to pay an administrative fine of NIS 5,000 (about $1,322). If the matter reaches a court, the fine may rise to NIS 52,000 ($13,750).
According to a report on Israel Radio, the couple employed a foreign worker from the Philippines on several occasions. The woman reportedly helped prepare dinners for quests and also did cleaning jobs around the house twice a week.
The woman is said to be married to another Filipino foreign worker, and has a child. In recent years she has worked in cleaning jobs in Israel, after working as a caretaker in the past.
