Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu. It doesn't really matter if it's criminal or not
Photo: AP
It's not the house, it's the couple who lives in it
Op-ed: Even those who were fooled by the misrepresentation of the poor condition of the prime minister's residence cannot ignore Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu's sickening behavior, as revealed in the state comptroller's report.
The really sickening thing about the state comptroller's report
is not the criminal issue. As always, it's the small things, which teach us more than anything about Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu's character.
Think for a minute about such an employee, who earns a few thousand shekels a month, and who is sent by the prime minister, who is worth tens of millions of shekels according to Forbes Magazine, to buy him eye drops, or newspapers, or a cup of coffee and a pastry. That worker, who can barely provide for his family, is already familiar with this ritual. He knows that he will never see the money again, but he can't refuse the errand.
For example, the claim that employees from the Prime Minister's Office were sent on all kinds of errands by Netanyahu and were forced to pay from their own pockets for his private purchases, and did not receive a refund for these expenses.
Domestic Politics
Nahum Barnea
Op-ed: The only public issue in the Sara Netanyahu affairs is to what extent her behavior affects the prime minister's decisions and performance; and why is he complaining about a political conspiracy instead of dealing with reality?
Imagine him on his way to the local drugstore, as he calculates the money he is about to spend. And no, we don’t expect the prime minister to stand in line at the drugstore, as some of Netanyahu's poodles who were sent to defend him claimed on Tuesday. Like Deputy Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who wasn't ashamed to mock the criticism – because what is 42 shekels for a cold medication when it's the prime minister we're talking about?
Well Hotovely, a few dozen shekels can mean a lot for some people, and there is no reason in the world why they should finance the prime minister's private needs. We would expect the prime minister would make a gesture he is probably unfamiliar with and has never done in his life – put his hand in his pocket and pay his employee back for the expense. He should be the one settling the account with whoever he has to, not the employee.
Sara Netanyahu in the video produced by designer Moshik Galamin. 'Many were not fooled by her attempt to refute the rumors about hedonism and squandering'
And it was so disgusting listening to Minister Gilad Erdan, an intelligent and eloquent guy, quoting the messages Mrs. Netanyahu had dictated to him several hours earlier, and willing to serve as the family's rag and clean up all the dirt after them. And this is the man who wants to be responsible of the public coffers in the next term. How can a person who aspires to reach the highest positions defend Netanyahu's attempt to avoid paying drought tax, a tax that he himself imposed and which all the citizens of the State of Israel are required to pay, except for the prime minister – for the water in his private swimming pool.
So there's no need to ask whether it's criminal or not. There are those who believe that the report includes criminal aspects which the attorney general should look into. How long do you think it will take the attorney general to come back with answers? So let go of the criminal aspects.
Each person should ask himself whether the things he was exposed to this week meet his standards. Because even those who were fooled by the misrepresentation of the poor condition of the prime minister's residence, as it was reflected in the video produced by celebrity designer Moshik Galamin, could have been convinced on Tuesday that it's not the house, it's the landlords.
Because there isn't a reasonable person who would fall for the claim that with an expense budget of NIS 3.144 million (about $810,000) in 2011, they couldn't have changed the curtain, fixed the doors, painted the walls and made sure that the shaky chairs the prime minister sits on when he goes down to the first-floor kitchen won't creak. Or that with a cleaning budget which reached NIS 1.230 million that year, Mrs. Netanyahu should find dust on the lamp. More than NIS 75,000 a month for cleaning both houses – the Jerusalem residence and the private home in Caesarea – while they hardly even live in one of these houses.
Yaakov Borovsky, a former major-general in the Israel Police, who is singlehandedly staining his magnificent career, was sent by the family on Tuesday to provide explanations and wasn't ashamed to say that the house in Caesarea isn't empty. Why there are security guards there all week long, and someone has to clean after them. I believe that even Sara Netanyahu's heart missed a beat upon hearing that. security guards inside the Caesarea home? Heaven forbid. Why even the prime minister's guests have no access to the house.
And if we thought that the inflated budget for the candles consumed by the Netanyahu family would reduce the electricity bill, it turns out that the family consumes a private electrician. And not just an electrician, but one who arrives at the Caesarea home every week, including on Yom Kippur, and earned more than NIS 10,000 in three months. That electrician also happens to be a friend of the Netanyahu family, and he was employed against the recommendation of a special committee.
And we have yet to talk about the clothing, makeup and hair design expenses, which reached NIS 144,000 during one of the examined years. And the money spent on meals ordered for the family members from gourmet restaurants. I wonder how many tons of schnitzel and mashed potatoes one can buy for more than NIS 70,000.
So no, it's not the house, it's the landlords. And even if it's not criminal, it's sickening.
In Galamin's video, Sara Netanyahu tried to refute the rumors about hedonism, squandering, even about her obsession with order and cleanliness. She was willing to opened up a messy cupboard in front of the camera and present a finger covered with dust in order to prove that she is not what people think.
Many were not fooled by this performance. Netanyahu's supporters stood behind him as always. But what about the hundreds of thousands of undecided voters? What are they thinking now, the day after the report that proves it's all true: The hedonism, the squandering. The disgusting stinginess. The prime minister's unstoppable engagement in marginal issues. The fact that the Netanyahu family discounts people. That they treat their employees like subjects. That the emperor and empress think they are entitled to everything, that they won't even take a penny out of their own pocket, even if it's at the expense of hardworking employees.
So does it really matter if it's criminal or not, with this person as our leader? And what has he done in the past six years which justifies turning a blind eye, ignoring the corruption, the pretentiousness, the rule of a couple who thinks it deserves everything.
So think about it. It's not the house, it's the landlords.
