Latest news with #SaraNetanyahu
Al Bawaba
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Sara Netanyahu flees from beauty salon to shelter as Iranian rocket hit Israel
ALBAWABA - Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was spotted inside one of the shelters in Israel amid the Israeli rocket attack against Tel Aviv. Israeli media said that Sara Netanyahu surprised a number of West Jerusalem residents after they found her sitting among them in a bomb shelter following Iranian missiles falling near the area during the recent military escalation. According to Walla news agency, Sara was inside a nearby beauty center when the sirens went off, and she and her Shin Bet security guards rushed to the nearest shelter. Sara Netanyahu is seen inside a bomb shelter amid Iranian attacks against Israel. (Social media) Photos of the scene were later shared on social media, showing Sara without makeup and lying on a plastic chair. The report noted that the Prime Minister's wife regularly visits upscale beauty salons in Tel Aviv, despite having her own personal grooming team paid for by the Cabinet budget. On June 13, Israel attacked Iran, targeting its nuclear sites and killing multiple commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In response, Tehran carried out hundreds of missile attacks against Tel Aviv, during which the country reported physical and material damages.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Netanyahu stuns Israelis by describing ‘personal cost' of postponing son's wedding
Benjamin Netanyahu has evoked the spirit of London under the Blitz, and pointed to his own family's sacrifice amid the blood, toil, tears and sweat of his nation: the second postponement of his son's wedding. The Israeli prime minister's remarks, solemnly delivered to the cameras against the backdrop of a missile-struck hospital building in the southern city of Be'er Sheva, set off a howl of derision that echoed around the Hebrew-language internet, at the height of a war that Netanyahu unleashed on Friday. The stunning comments also added grist to the arguments of his critics that the prime minister is increasingly cut off emotionally from the daily realities of Israel and the region, after more than 17 years in office. Seeking to underline his family's shared hardship with ordinary Israelis, Netanyahu adopted a Churchillian tone when pointing out that this was not the first time his son Avner's wedding had needed to be postponed, and that Avner's fiancee was also disappointed, not to mention the thwarted mother of the groom, Netanyahu's wife, Sara. 'It really reminds me of the British people during the Blitz. We are going through a Blitz,' Netanyahu said, referring to the wartime Nazi bombing of Britain in which 43,000 civilians died. 'There are people who were killed, families who grieved loved ones, I really appreciate that,' he went on. The Israeli authorities say that 24 Israeli civilians have so far been killed. Washington-based human rights activists have estimated the Iranian civilian death toll to be 263. 'Each of us bears a personal cost, and my family has not been exempt,' Netanyahu said at the Soroka hospital, which was struck on Thursday morning by an Iranian missile, causing light injuries. 'This is the second time that my son Avner has canceled a wedding due to missile threats. It is a personal cost for his fiancee as well, and I must say that my dear wife is a hero, and she bears a personal cost.' Avner Netanyahu's wedding was first scheduled in November and had to be postponed for security reasons. Then it was due to take place on Monday, despite threat of opposition protests. Reports that the prime minister was going to take a few days off for the event may have contributed to Iran's complacency on Friday morning when the leadership was taken unawares by Israel's aerial attack. The Israeli backlash to Netanyahu's nuptial comments was instant and furious. Anat Angrest, whose son Matan has been held hostage since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, observed that the suffering 'didn't go unnoticed by my family either'. 'I have been in the hellish dungeons of Gaza for 622 days now,' Angrest said in a post on the social media platform X. Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member for the Democrats, called Netanyahu a 'borderless narcissist'. 'I know many families who were not forced to postpone a wedding, but who will now never celebrate the weddings that were once meant to take place,' Kariv said. He was contemptuous of Netanyahu's claim that his wife, Sara, notorious in Israeli for her expensive tastes, was a hero. 'The doctors who leave home for night shifts are the heroes,' Kariv said. 'The teachers who keep our children together on Zoom and phone calls are the heroes.' Amir Tibon, an Israeli journalist, argued that public figures whose children had been killed in combat would never draw attention to the fact. 'But there are no surprises with Netanyahu,' Tibon said. 'Even in moments when a personal example is most needed, he is first and foremost concerned with himself.'
Irish Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Protest planned in Israel at marriage of Netanyahu's son
Opponents of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu are planning to demonstrate outside his son's wedding next week. Monday's wedding of Avner Netanyahu (30), the prime minister's youngest son, and Amit Yardeni (27), a cybersecurity researcher, is taking place at Ronit Farm in the centre of the country, one of Israel's plushest event venues. More than 1,000 guests have been invited, prompting criticism in Israel that such an extravagance – while the war in Gaza continues , soldiers are among those being killed and 55 hostages remain in Hamas captivity – underscores the disconnect between the Netanyahu family and the public at large. Activists are discussing several tactics, such as blocking approach roads to the venue, using air horns, drums and loudspeakers to disrupt the event and photographing guests in a 'name-and-shame' campaign. READ MORE The police plan a big operation to allow the wedding to proceed without disruption. Prominent anti-government activist Ami Dror urged the groom to tone down the wedding, launching a scathing attack on the prime minister's wife, Sara Netanyahu. 'While thousands of reservists got married in wheelchairs, while thousands of families will never get to marry off their children, while the families of the hostages can't sleep at night – you're throwing a ball in the style of Elana Ceaușescu? In the most expensive venue in Israel?' Sources close to the couple say Avner Netanyahu made it clear he doesn't want ministers and members of the Knesset parliament to attend the wedding, reportedly prompting the ire of some leading politicians who consider themselves personal friends of the Netanyahu family. Avner has kept out of the public eye, in sharp contrast to his older brother Yair, who has relocated to Miami but maintains a steady flow of vitriolic social media posts against opponents of his father, the judiciary and the media. Some opponents of the prime minister have warned that the wedding protest may be counterproductive. 'What is clear is that many good people who believe in this protest movement are now deeply conflicted,' wrote Ariela Ringel Hoffman, in the daily Yediot Aharonot newspaper. 'And stunts like this are fuel for the engine that keeps Netanyahu in power – and makes him stronger.'
Irish Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Binyamin Netanyahu cross-examined for the first time in corruption trial
Five years after the start of his corruption trial, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu underwent cross-examination for the first time on Tuesday. Mr Netanyahu is facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – all of which he denies. The first cross-examination session on Tuesday focused on allegations that he had received gifts from wealthy benefactors. Mr Netanyahu claimed that the gifts were due to the close personal relations he developed with certain billionaires. He denied that the presents, which included cigars, champagne and jewellery, were given in return for favours. The prosecution noted one occasion when Sara Netanyahu, Mr Netanyahu's wife, asked Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan to buy a large Bugs Bunny doll for their son, later asking him to exchange it for a larger one. Mr Netanyahu claimed he could not remember the gift. READ MORE Prosecution lawyer Yonatan Tadmor raised the question of Mr Netanyahu's memory. 'You don't have problems with your memory, right?' he asked. 'We all do, from time to time,' Mr Netanyahu answered, before Mr Tadmor reminded him that on 1,788 occasions during his investigation he had claimed an inability to remember, implying this was the answer he gave when he preferred to avoid uncomfortable questions. Mr Netanyahu is the first sitting prime minister in Israeli history to have taken the stand as a defendant. His questioning over the last few months by the defence legal team has been chaotic. Numerous sessions have been cancelled, delayed or finished early due to pressing matters of state, most connected to the Gaza war. In almost every court appearance Mr Netanyahu has received notes from aides updating him on military and diplomatic developments. This has strengthened the arguments of opponents of Mr Netanyahu who claim that in a country such as Israel – particularly in the midst of a 20-month war – it is simply impossible for a prime minister to appear in court three times a week for months on end. [ Binyamin Netanyahu becomes first sitting Israeli PM to take stand as criminal defendant Opens in new window ] Mr Netanyahu faces corruption charges in three cases. The first, known as Case 1,000, centres on gifts he allegedly received from Mr Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. Case 2,000 focuses on an illicit deal he allegedly tried to strike with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, to ensure positive coverage. Case 4,000 centres on an alleged deal by which Shaul Elovitch, then the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq, ensured positive coverage of the Netanyahu family by the Walla! news website, which Mr Elovitch owned, in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulations worth the equivalent of hundreds of millions of euro to the company. Mr Netanyahu denies all of the allegations, claiming the graft claims are nothing more than a witch hunt by the left, supported by the judiciary and media, in an effort to topple him from power. It is expected the cross-examination stage may continue into 2026, with the trial itself lasting at least another two years. Even if Mr Netanyahu is eventually convicted, and assuming he appeals, legally he would be required to resign only after the final judgment of Israel's supreme court, which could take a further few years. According to Israeli law, the maximum punishment is 10 years in jail for a bribery conviction, but this scenario is unlikely since the judges have already recommended that the prosecution drop the bribery charges. The punishment for fraud and breach of trust is three years in jail.
Al Bawaba
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Did Zini's relationship to Sara Netanyahu land him the shin bet job?
ALBAWABA - The appointment of General David Zini as the new leader of Israel's internal security agency, the Shin Bet, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked intense controversy. Reports have focused on Zini's hardline religious beliefs, lack of intelligence expertise, and purported personal relationship to Sara Netanyahu. Israeli media sites such as Ynet and BeHadrei Haredim claim that Netanyahu had previously turned down Zini for the position of military secretary, calling him "too messianic" in private conversations. The phrase alludes to Zini's membership in the religious Zionist movement, which some consider to be politically and socially extremist and holds that the establishment of a future Israeli state is connected to the arrival of the Messiah and the reconstruction of the Third Temple. Zini's philosophy had previously raised problems, but Netanyahu abruptly changed his mind and named him head of the Shin Bet. Given that the Shin Bet head is essential to ensuring national security, this shift has drawn condemnation from Israel's religious and secular communities. After General Ori Gordon resigned and General Yaniv Assor was assigned to the Southern Command, Zini, a revered operational officer and a key player in the religious Zionist camp, had previously been considered for senior command positions in the Israeli army, specifically the Northern Command. Zini's lack of previous intelligence work experience and his history of publicly criticizing the Israeli government and military exacerbated the response. His stances, according to his detractors, make him a divisive and contentious candidate to lead a security organization entrusted with managing political sensitivities and internal dangers. Additionally, according to sources, Netanyahu did not confer with General Eyal Zamir or Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi before appointing Zini, even though Zini is now the Commander of the IDF's Training Command and was involved in Operation Gideon Chariots. According to analysts, Netanyahu could have foreseen possible resistance from military leadership. Unverified rumors of a private connection between Zini and Sara Netanyahu have added to the public's curiosity. While no official pronouncements have addressed the claim, some assume that the relationship may have had a role in the Prime Minister's abrupt shift in stance. Particularly within the right-wing and religious sectors, the appointment has generated intense controversy. While some see it as a gain for religious Zionism, others wonder about the political reasons behind it and its ramifications for national security.
