Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Meni (Menachem) Naftali is a former Israeli security official, combat veteran, and household manager whose 2014 lawsuit against the Prime Minister’s Office exposed a hostile work environment under Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu, serving as a foundational element in the public and legal scrutiny of the family, including Case 1000 investigations and the 2024 documentary The Bibi Files. Born in Jerusalem and raised in the moshav Agur as the second of five children in a working-class family of Syrian and Iraqi Jewish descent facing financial hardships—his father, a former contractor turned sheep farmer, was imprisoned for violent offenses—Naftali attended Mikve Israel agricultural school and served in the IDF as a sniper in the Golani Brigade's Paratroopers Battalion during the Second Intifada, including Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
His pre-residence career included security roles at the Taba Crossing (1999), various border crossings (2001-2003), and the Prime Minister's Office (2005-2010), followed by VIP security (2010) and a return to PM Office security (2012). From 2011 to 2012, he served as Chief Caretaker (House Manager) of the PM’s official residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem for 20 months, managing logistics, maintenance, and staff with 24/7 access to the family's private life, building on his elite security detail protecting the Netanyahus.
In 2014, Naftali filed a civil suit alleging verbal abuse and irrational demands by Sara Netanyahu, including the 'Milk Incident' (scolded at 3:00 AM for plastic-bagged milk), the 'Flower Outburst' (vase thrown over day-old flowers), and excessive alcohol consumption like pink champagne often supplied by benefactors. The 2016 Jerusalem Labor Court verdict awarded him NIS 155,000 (approx. $40,000) for emotional distress and humiliation, with the state's appeal withdrawn; the judge confirmed insults, humiliation, and rage toward staff. A 2015 sexual harassment allegation against him by a residence employee was closed in 2017 for lack of evidence.
Naftali became a key state witness in 2017, testifying in Sara Netanyahu's 2018 fraud case and providing critical details for Case 1000 (illegal gifts), describing a regular 'supply line' of cigars and champagne from billionaires Arnon Milchan and James Packer, and for Case 4000 on media influence obsessions. His testimony highlighted the 'claustrophobic' and fear-driven atmosphere, portraying the Prime Minister as controlled by his wife's volatile demands for luxury and dignity issues beyond finances.
Post-lawsuit, after his firearms license revocation in October 2016, Naftali founded a business in protected room (mamad) door/window assembly, renovations, and handyman services advertised on Facebook. A former Likud supporter, he transitioned to apolitical anti-corruption activism, co-leading from November 2016 the 'Black Flag' protests against Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to demand probes like the Submarines Affair, with weekly demonstrations near his Petah Tikva home (later Rothschild Blvd, Tel Aviv). He founded the 'Justice and Democracy' association in August 2017 to aid whistleblowers and fight corruption, earning a spot among Ma'ariv's 100 most influential Israelis in 2017. Arrested multiple times—including December 2016, May 2017 (arm broken), and August 2017 (with Eldad Yaniv for Facebook incitement)—he faced death threats, a 2015 spitting incident in Afula mall, suspected arson on his car in June 2018, his son's school beating during 2015 elections, and online abuse toward his wife.
Legally, he won libel suits against Likud members, lawyers, and employees (filed ~2015), securing ~NIS 191,000 in August 2021 (court deeming him 'ethical and credible'), though partially overturned in January 2023 with NIS 10,000 costs to Likud; a 2020 settlement with Galei Tzahal yielded NIS 16,000 for derogatory remarks. He denied 2017 accusations by Netanyahu of expense inflation.
Naftali featured in The Bibi Files (2024), showcasing leaked interrogation tapes on the residence's dynamics, and appeared on Survivor VIP Season 2 (2019, 4th place), with interviews in HaMakor (2017), Israel Hayom, Yedioth Ahronoth, and plans for a Netanyahu satire comedy act (~2019). Married to Simona (Lithuanian immigrant) with two children (son and daughter), he identifies as a believer (wears tefillin) and lives in Afula.