Harassment complaint lodged against top PMO official

Justice Ministry looking into allegations that Nathan Eshel, Chief of Staff at the PMO read personal messages, followed young female staffer.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Nathan Eshel 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Nathan Eshel 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
The Prime Minister’s Office informed the attorney-general on Tuesday that a female worker was allegedly harassed by a senior official in the office, Army Radio reported.
The Justice Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that the matter is currently under review.
Sources in the office said that no complaint was filed, and that the allegations were “gossip.”
According to the radio report, the worker complained that Nathan Eshel, Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office and a close associate of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, harassed her and intruded on her privacy.
She claims he searched through her personal e-mail and cellphone text messages, and followed her after working hours. Her coworkers reported the matter to the authorities.
The young woman is reported to be a direct subordinate of Eshel, who is many years older. She stated that the harassment worsened after she took part in a trip abroad with another official from the office, which allegedly caused Eshel to become jealous.
In a statement, a Justice Ministry spokesman said the ministry “confirmed that following the receipt of information by our office, the attorney- general has instructed the Civil Service Commission’s disciplinary division to hold a preliminary inquiry regarding the reliability of the information.”
The spokesman added that at this stage, “there is no concrete basis to the information, and an investigation has not been opened.”