We post stories of interest related to the employment of household staff, and this one involves a very public figure on the international scene. We hold no judgement or opinion of the people involved, but do carefully consider how the events unfolded with regard to in-home employment practices. Enjoy…
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara insulted and raged at household staff, creating an abusive working environment at the Israeli prime minister's official residence, a labor court ruled on Wednesday.
Allegations of mistreatment leveled by Meni Naftali, a former chief caretaker at the Jerusalem home, were dismissed by the Prime Minister's Office as “evil, skewed gossip” when the civil lawsuit was filed in 2014.
But the court, in its 40-page decision, said testimony by Naftali and other former household employees about Mrs Netanyahu's alleged abusive behavior toward them at the Jerusalem residence was credible.
Sara Netanyahu has elicited a multitude of headlines in the past over what family spokesmen have decried as an undeserved reputation for imperiousness, and it seemed unlikely the latest case could cause significant political damage to her husband, now in his fourth term as Israel's leader.
An earlier case, in 2010, in which a housekeeper accused her of being abusive, was settled out of court. A spokesman at the prime minister's office declined immediate comment on the labor court's verdict.
Naftali, who resigned in 2012 after a 20-month stint at the prime minister's residence, said he had been subjected to repeated scoldings by Mrs Netanyahu.
In one instance, he said, she had called him at 3 a.m. to chide him for buying milk packaged in a plastic bag rather than in a carton.
Read more via: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/netanyahus-wife-abused-household-staff-court-rules_us_56bb63a4e4b08ffac1236c41