The wife of the Israeli Prime Minister was abusive towards household staff and threw plates in a fit of rage, a Jerusalem labour court has heard.
Former household staff to Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu have accused the First Lady of behaving violently and aggressively at their official residence.
Guy Eliyahu, a former maintenance worker and Etti Haim, a former chef, testified in one of three employment grievance cases launched against the Israeli Prime Minster’s Office. Mr Netenyahu and has wife are not parties to the action.
The Times reports Ms Haim claimed Ms Netanyahu had hit her and described an occasion where she allegedly became enraged when dust was accidentally sent across a table filled with food.
“We stood there terrified. She jerked the cloth off the table so that all the dishes, salads and pickles landed on the floor,” Ms Haim told the court. “Then she said, ‘you have five minutes to reset this table’.” She claimed Mr Netanyahu sat silently throughout the episode and did not intervene.
In January, the court heard allegations published by The Times of Israel that Ms Netanyahu would fly into drunken rages and verbally abuse staff.
In his testimony, Mr Eliyahu said the First Lady’s mood would change dramatically towards staff after, he claimed, she drank copious amounts of alcohol.
He described an “atmosphere of fear among the employees who were afraid of being victims of minor incidents that would escalate into difficult, rage-filled outbursts, especially after she would drink large amounts of alcohol that I and others would bring to her room daily".
Ms Netanyahu will testify in court in October. The couple have denied all of the abuse allegations against them.
