Investigation Focuses on WhatsApp Messages

JERUSALEM — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and a witness in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.

The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the “Uvda” investigative program into Sara Netanyahu.

The program uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs. Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organize protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial.

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Netanyahu Defends Wife Against Allegations

The announcement did not mention Mrs. Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined further comment.

But in a video released earlier Thursday, Netanyahu listed what he said were the many kind and charitable acts by his wife and blasted the Uvda report as “lies.”

“My opponents on the left and in the media found a new-old target. They mercilessly attack my wife, Sara,” he said. He called the program “false propaganda, nasty propaganda that brings up lies from the darkness.”

It was the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus — highlighted by the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial. The pair have also had a rocky relationship with the Israeli media.

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Details of Alleged Misconduct Emerge

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favors with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. Netanyahu denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.

The report obtained correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Hanni Bleiweiss, a former aide to the prime minister who died of cancer last year. The messages indicated that Sara Netanyahu encouraged police to crack down violently on anti-government protesters and ordered Bleiweiss to organize protests against her husband’s critics. She also told Bleiweiss to get activists in Netanyahu’s Likud party to publish attacks on Klein.

Klein is an aide to billionaire Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and has testified in the corruption case about her role in delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of champagne, cigars and gifts to Netanyahu for her boss.

According to the report, Sara Netanyahu mistreated Bleiweiss, prompting her to share the messages with a reporter shortly before her death.

Sara Netanyahu has been accused of abusive behavior toward her personal staff before. This, together with accusations of excessive spending and using public money for her own extravagant personal tastes, has earned her an image as being out of touch with everyday Israelis. In 2019, she was fined for misusing state funds.

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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees police and has repeatedly said Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara should be fired over a series of grievances against her, said the latest announcement was another reason for her to be dismissed.

“Someone who politically persecutes government ministers and their families cannot continue to serve as the attorney general,” he said.

And Justice Minister Yariv Levin, another Netanyahu ally and critic of Baharav Miara, accused her of focusing on “television gossip.”

“Selective enforcement is a crime!” he said in a statement.