Car of central figure in Netanyahu investigation set ablaze

Former manager of the prime minister's residence complained his car was set on fire during Sunday night, the police is looking into the matter.

JUNE 25, 2018 08:13

Updated: JUNE 25, 2018 23:56

Meni Naftali stands outside the Petah Tikva police station in April (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons) — Meni Naftali stands outside the Petah Tikva police station in April

(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Meni Naftali’s car was set on fire early Sunday morning at his home in Afula.

Naftali is a former manager of the Prime Minister’s Residence and a central figure in the so-called “Prepared Food Affair” against Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A report of smoke rising from a car parked on Janusz Korczak Street in Afula was received at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s office reported.

Naftali posted a video of the car on social media with the caption: “My car was burned down.”

שרפו לי את הרכב pic.twitter.com/BLHuB28qda
— מני נפתלי (@1978naftali) June 24, 2018

Mrs. Netanyahu was recently indicted by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit for fraud with aggravated circumstances and breach of public trust for allegedly charging the State of Israel NIS 359,000 ($97,000) for food, despite having the services of a cook in the Prime Minister’s Residence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that, in his view, the state is responsible to cover all the food expenses of the Prime Minister’s Residence and that the food purchased by his wife was consumed by “everybody, workers of the Prime Minister’s Residence and even heads of states.”

Naftali worked with Mrs. Netanyahu in 2011 and 2012 and is a state witness in the case.