Israeli Prime Minister’s Wife Allegedly Involved in Witness Harassment in Netanyahu’s Corruption Case

As the corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues, his wife, Sara Netanyahu, has also become the subject of an investigation related to various allegations linked to her husband’s charges.

On Thursday, Israeli prosecutors ordered the police to investigate Mrs. Netanyahu. The investigation focuses on allegations of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice in connection with her husband’s ongoing criminal trial. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced that the investigation would center on claims made by Israel’s Channel 12 news program “Uvda,” though she refrained from directly naming Mrs. Netanyahu. Uvda disclosed WhatsApp messages allegedly sent by Mrs. Netanyahu to Hanni Bleiweiss, her husband’s former aide. These messages appeared to instruct Bleiweiss to intimidate witnesses in the Prime Minister’s criminal trial and to encourage police to suppress anti-government protests violently.

The program also revealed that Mrs. Netanyahu allegedly urged Bleiweiss to orchestrate attacks on key trial witnesses through activists from her husband’s Likud party and to organize demonstrations condemning his political opponents. Additionally, she is suspected of directing protests outside the homes of the prosecutor who investigated her husband’s corruption charges and the former Attorney General who issued his indictment.

Netanyahu has strongly denied these allegations, dismissing them as lies propagated by left-wing opponents and the media. He stated, “They are ruthlessly attacking my wife, Sara,” and condemned the news program as engaging in propaganda that “pulls lies from the darkness.”

Netanyahu has been under indictment since November 2019 on charges of bribery and fraud. He is accused of receiving gifts valued at $195,000, including champagne, cigars, and jewelry, from foreign businessmen seeking favorable tax legislation. He also faces allegations of demanding positive media coverage from a newspaper publisher in exchange for hampering a rival publication’s circulation. Furthermore, he is charged with providing $250 million in regulatory benefits to the telecommunications company Bezeq in return for favorable news coverage.