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Sara Netanyahu Abuse Lawsuit Filed by Former Household Worker — AI-generated representative image: the exterior of an official government residence in Jerusalem, shown without identifying signage or people.

Editorial Team

Ex-residence employee seeks $150,000 in damages over alleged humiliation and labor violations at the Israeli PM's Jerusalem home.

A former household worker at the Israeli prime minister's residence has filed a lawsuit seeking 450,000 shekels ($150,000), alleging he suffered repeated humiliation and abuse at the hands of Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rami Ben-Hamo, who worked at the residence from 2023 to 2025, filed the complaint with the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court on Tuesday. The lawsuit is formally directed against the Prime Minister's Office, although the alleged mistreatment is overwhelmingly attributed to Sara Netanyahu.

The case carries political weight because it lands months before Israel's October elections and adds to a documented pattern of similar grievances from former residence employees. It also raises broader questions about working conditions and accountability within the prime minister's household, an institution that operates largely outside public scrutiny.

Allegations Detailed in the Lawsuit

According to Ben-Hamo, he sometimes worked from around 7:30 AM until the early hours of the following morning, accumulating 60 to 80 hours of overtime each month. He claims to have "suffered extreme abuse," including demands that he clean her handbag and the soles of her shoes, repeatedly wash his hands between tasks, and endure screaming and humiliation when chores were not performed exactly to her standards.

The complaint states that Netanyahu allegedly called him an "undeveloped Moroccan" and declared: "I am the prime minister's wife. You will do what I tell you." Ben-Hamo says the ethnic insult was repeated and that he sometimes had to beg her in tears to stop.

Ben-Hamo also alleges he was kept at work after the start of Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest observed between Friday and Saturday evenings, despite Netanyahu knowing he followed the tradition. After suffering a cardiac event at work and undergoing catheterization in 2025, he says her treatment of him became even harsher.

A Pattern of Similar Allegations

The current lawsuit follows a series of comparable complaints against Sara Netanyahu. Several weeks ago, former residence worker Yehiel Ohev-Ami, 61, sued for 300,000 shekels ($100,000), claiming she repeatedly insulted and yelled at him and once ordered him to clean the kitchen floor while crawling. Ohev-Ami also alleged she wished him cancer and death after he took a smoke break and even "diagnosed" him with autism. The Prime Minister's Office has denied those accusations.

In May, Israeli media reported that another former employee reached a settlement with her staffing company after alleging repeated humiliation, including an incident in which Sara Netanyahu threw olives and tomatoes at her during breakfast.

In 2016, a Jerusalem labor court awarded former residence caretaker Meni Naftali 170,000 shekels ($57,000) after accepting his claims that Sara Netanyahu fostered "abusive employment conditions," including verbal insults and unreasonable demands.

Official Response and Political Context

Netanyahu's office dismissed the allegations as "fake news," describing the lawsuit as a politically motivated "witch-hunt" ahead of the October elections.

Ben-Hamo also claims that when he submitted a resignation notice citing the mistreatment, the Prime Minister's Office "refused to accept this note and demanded that the plaintiff change the wording so that it said he wanted to leave for personal reasons."

Multiple media reports describe Sara Netanyahu, a psychologist by training, as wielding immense political influence with effective veto power over appointments to key positions. Earlier this month, former chief of staff Yoav Horowitz suggested that politically, "Sara Netanyahu and Bibi Netanyahu are one; it's impossible to separate between them."

What Happens Next

The Jerusalem Regional Labor Court has not yet issued a ruling, and no hearing date has been publicly confirmed. The Prime Minister's Office has indicated it will contest the allegations. Further developments are expected as the case proceeds through the labor court system.