Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, filed a civil suit against Sylvie Genesia, a former housekeeper at the prime minister’s residence. She is demanding 200,000 Israeli shekels ($58,000) for invasion of privacy, violation of contract and slander. The suit was filed just two days, on June 16, after the media released a series of embarrassing recordings in which Genesia and another employee at Netanyahu's residence discuss the disturbing behavior of Sara and her son Yair.
Genesia is yet another addition to a seemingly endless list of former employees at the prime minister’s residence who engaged in or are currently engaged in highly publicized legal disputes with Sara. Though they claim that she humiliated and abused them, they have also shared some shocking descriptions of what really goes on at the residence. Stories such as these surrounding the Netanyahus have been on the public’s radar in Israel since Netanyahu's first term in office (1996-1999). In 1997, Tanya Shaw, the nanny of his two sons who were three and five at the time, sued Sara for her humiliating attitude and unlawful termination. The stories have been coming nonstop since then, reaching record levels in the last few years. Sara is in and out of court, and in many cases, has filed countersuits. Most of these employees describe the prime minister himself as treating them well. Sometimes, they say, he will even calm his wife down, when she goes off on a rant.