MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) wants White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to pay for the meal his family ate an Eilat restaurant last week as part of a private visit for his son's Bar Mitzvah. Ben-Ari fired off a letter to the Attorney General Sunday in which he said: "I was amazed to hear that following the sumptuous meal at the 'Boston' restaurant Emanuel handed the bill to a Ministry of Tourism representative who was present. In my humble legal opinion there is no possibility of making the State of Israel pay for such a meal, as part of a private visit by the White House Chief of Staff and his family.”
Dr. Ben-Ari added, "The public coffers are not up for grabs and the fact that the gentleman [Emanuel] sponsors anti-Semitic policies in the White House is certainly no justification for digging into the public coffer at the expense of the old lady in the corridor of the hospital,” Ben-Ari added – in a reference to the shortage of hospital beds in Israel, which is attributed to budgetary problems.