The Jerusalem District Prosecutor on Thursday, 8 Tammuz, filed a criminal indictment against Mrs. Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. She was charged with misusing over $100,000 in public funds to order lavish meals from some of the country’s most famous chefs.

An indictment was also filed against the Deputy Director of Operations and Assets in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ezra Seidoff, for offenses of receiving items fraudulently under aggravated circumstances, fraud and breach of trust. Regarding Seidoff, there are also charges of forgery by a public servant, which were made in connection with the financing of private expenses in the Prime Minister’s Residence.

A notice of the decision and a copy of the indictment were delivered to their attorneys. Netanyahu’s lawyers denounced the charges as “baseless and delusional.”

Although the indictment against Sara Netanyahu did not directly affect the prime minister, it ended a period of political victories that had bolstered the Israeli leader and distracted attention from his legal woes.

Netanyahu has basked in months of political success, including the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and its move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, taking away attention from a series of corruption investigations facing the prime minister.

Sara Netanyahu has long faced allegations of abusive behavior and living extravagantly. In 2016, a court ruled she abused an employee and awarded the man $42,000 in damages. Other former employees have accused her of mistreatment, charges the Netanyahus have vehemently denied.

In Thursday’s indictment, the Justice Ministry said Sara Netanyahu was charged with fraud and breach of trust for allegedly overspending roughly $100,000 on private meals at the prime minister’s official residence, even when there was a full-time chef on staff. Officials have gathered receipts and documented no less than fifteen instances in which outside chefs were brought in to cook at the official PM’s Residence.

Sara Netanyahu acted “to circumvent the rules and conditions” governing the official residence “in order to fraudulently obtain state funding for various expenses for the accused and her family that were not supposed to be financed in this manner,” the indictment said.

It was not immediately clear when her trial would begin. If convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of five years behind bars for the most serious charge, though that appeared unlikely.

In a statement posted on the prime minister’s Facebook page, her lawyers called the indictment “baseless and delusional.” It said she was not even aware of the regulations, that the food had been ordered by an assistant and served primarily to staff and visiting dignitaries.

“This is the first time in Israel and in the world that the wife of a leader is brought to justice over food trays,” it said. “There was no fraud or breach of trust here or deceptively receiving things or any other crime.”

There is already a buzz among opponents of PM Netanyahu, who cite when Mrs. Leah Rabin was indicted for illegal bank accounts back in 1977, Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin resigned. There are no signals from the Prime Minister’s Office that Mr. Netanyahu intends to follow this example. That said, there are numerous investigation ongoing against Mr. Netanyahu, and while he exhibits an air of calm, many are confident he too will face criminal indictment in the coming months, or during 2019 at the very latest.

As the news of the indictment rocks the local political scene, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has announced the closure of another case against Netanyahu, dealing with funding for homecare for her father. The entire matter amounted to the employment of two caretakes for a total of six days, replacing the regular staff.

The indictment threatened to reinforce the unflattering reputation the Netanyahus have gained over the years of enjoying an expensive lifestyle and being out of touch with most Israelis. Netanyahu also faces several police investigations into alleged corruption, including accepting expensive gifts from billionaire friends. The Netanyahus have denied any wrongdoing, and say they are the victims of a political witch hunt and hostile media.

Netanyahu has managed to deflect attention from his legal problems through a string of political and diplomatic victories in recent months. In May, Netanyahu announced that the Mossad spy agency had stolen tens of thousands of sensitive nuclear documents from archenemy Iran. The following week, the U.S. withdrew from the international nuclear deal with Iran, a move that was warmly welcomed by Netanyahu. Israel has also carried out a number of successful airstrikes on Iranian targets in neighboring Syria, and it has celebrated the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem over strong Palestinian and international objections.

But Thursday’s indictment provided a fresh reminder that Netanyahu has not put his legal troubles behind him.

Gil Hoffman, chief political correspondent of the Jerusalem Post, said the indictment was a “devastating blow” to the prime minister. He described Sara as “the power behind the throne.”

“He consults with her on key issues, both personal, political and even diplomatic and security issues and now she’s under indictment and that’s very serious,” Hoffman said. “He himself has three criminal investigations hanging over his head and that will make it harder for Netanyahu to govern.”

Israeli police questioned Netanyahu, his wife and son last week in connection to a corruption case involving the country’s telecom giant, Bezeq.

Netanyahu is suspected of promoting regulations that provided hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits for the company in return for more favorable coverage of the Netanyahu family on Bezeq’s influential news site, Walla.

Israeli police have already recommended indicting Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two separate cases.

Netanyahu is suspected of accepting lavish gifts from billionaire friends, and promising to promote legislation to help a major Israeli newspaper against its free rival in exchange for favorable coverage.

Israel’s attorney general is now reviewing the police recommendations and is expected to decide whether to indict Netanyahu in the coming months.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem / AP)