“I hope you get cancer”: former aide sues Sara Netanyahu over alleged workplace abuse

A former employee of the ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister’s Residence has sued Sara Netanyahu for NIS 300,000 ($98,000), claiming she subjected him to repeated verbal abuse that included wishing he would get cancer and die, as well as physical assaults.

Yehiel Ohev-Ami, 61, worked as an operations assistant handling cooking and cleaning duties for the Netanyahu family.

He was dismissed about five months before filing the suit in Jerusalem’s Regional Labor Court.

The Prime Minister’s Office rejected the allegations in a statement, saying the claims “have no basis, [and] do not reflect reality.”

It pledged a detailed response in the legal proceedings and stated that Ohev-Ami “failed in his job after working a short time at the residence,” leading to his termination for professional reasons after an orderly process.

According to the lawsuit, Ohev-Ami faced daily unreasonable demands.

These included wiping the soles of the couple’s shoes every day while ensuring his “hand didn’t go inside the shoe by accident.”

Minor errors, such as unloading laundry incorrectly, allegedly triggered “a torrent of screams and swearing.”

He claimed Sara Netanyahu shoved him against a wall on three occasions. On one of those, she shouted: “Who’s stupid?” and “Who’s retarded?”

After returning from a smoking break, when she said he smelled of cigarettes, she allegedly told him: “I hope you get cancer,” and “If only you would die.”

Ohev-Ami described a December 2025 exchange as the moment that “broke his spirit.”

Sara Netanyahu allegedly declared: “I am the prime minister’s wife. I am the number one psychologist in Israel, and I have no competitors. My therapy costs a lot of money.”

She then said: “I’ve diagnosed you – you’re on the autistic spectrum.”

The remark was particularly painful because he had previously shared that his son has autism.

She then demanded three of his paychecks as payment for the “diagnosis,” the suit alleges.

The lawsuit states that Ohev-Ami often worked from early morning until the pre-dawn hours and accumulated more than 100 overtime hours in a single month.

He said the conditions caused his health to deteriorate; on the day of the alleged autism diagnosis he sought treatment for chest problems and later needed a pacemaker.

The suit also accused the couple’s son Yair Netanyahu of once throwing Ohev-Ami out of the residence for not changing his bedsheets.

About a week after Ohev-Ami’s filing, Sara Netanyahu filed a countersuit.

Through her attorney Uriel Hor Nizri, she alleged that Ohev-Ami began illegally photographing inside the secure residence from his first days, violating his confidentiality agreement.

The claim describes a “blatant intrusion into Netanyahu’s private and intimate sphere of life,” information collection for “harassment and extortion,” and a planned “campaign of revenge” carried out with a Channel 12 News journalist after his request to return to work was denied.

Her lawsuit calls Ohev-Ami’s allegations “absolute and malicious lies” and “a web of lies and fabrications” intended for media and financial extortion.

Ohev-Ami’s suit maintains he performed his duties with dedication and professionalism but endured severe workplace abuse backed by supervisors, and was fired on pretextual grounds after falling out of favor with Sara Netanyahu.

This case is the latest in a series of complaints by former residence staff against Sara Netanyahu spanning decades.

Previous cases include a 2017 court award to caretaker Menny Naftali and other claims that have ended in settlements or procedural dismissals.

The current legal battle between Ohev-Ami and Sara Netanyahu is ongoing.