Lifestyle of Israeli prime minister's wife under scrutiny as she goes on trial

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared before a Jerusalem judge Sunday, the first hearing in a long-anticipated trial that will likely shed light on what critics often describe as her and her husband’s opulent and self-indulgent lifestyle.

Netanyahu, together with former deputy director of the prime minister’s office, Ezra Saidoff, is accused of ordering meals from private chefs and catering companies, tallying up a bill of some $100,000 in public funds between 2010-13, even though a full-time chef was already employed at the residence.

The prime minister is not directly named in the case but a very public trial against his wife could have far-reaching implications for his political standing and could harm his image at a time when he is said to be considering an early election. There will also be echoes from his first term as prime minister, 1996 to 1999, when his wife was under constant scrutiny for her behavior.

In the hopes of avoiding a public trial, Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit did offer Netanyahu a plea bargain deal if she agreed to repay all the money in question and admit wrongdoing. She reportedly rejected the offer, a legal strategy that prompted two of her lawyers to quit and led to a full-on trial.

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