Sarah Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who is being sued by her maid, dismisses the accusations against her as “a pack of lies and non-stop slander.”
The worker in the Netanyahu home is charging Mrs. Netanyahu with abuse and with denying her the social benefits that were legally due her.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement backing Mrs. Netanyahu, saying she has “already won twice in the past in the place where the truth is revealed – in court. And she will win once again in that place where truth and justice is revealed.”
The worker, known only as Lillian, age 44, married with four children, worked from January 2004 till July 2009.
Within media circles, it is being alleged that Yediot Acharonot, the first media outlet to break the story, is somehow encouraging the lawsuit, as part of its war against Yisrael HaYom, the pro-Netanyahu daily freebie that is threatening Yediot's position as Israel's leading daily.
Lillian claims in her suit that Sarah Netanyahu paid her a salary that was lower than the minimum wage and did not pay her the basic social benefits. Netanyahu also allegedly forced her employee to work on the Sabbath despite the fact that she is a Sabbath-observant Jew. Lillian also claims that Netanyahu insisted the worker refer to her as “Mrs. Sarah Netanyahu.”
Also included in the court papers was the claim that Sarah Netanyahu had informed her employee, “It is a privilege to work for the Netanyahu family” and that she had no right to demand any other salary or benefits. In addition, the plaintiff claimed that Netanyahu told her, “This is my beautiful home, and I am the mother of the State of Israel.”