Tel Aviv Court Dismisses Sara Netanyahu Defamation Suit Against Cleaner

A Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court dismissed on Sunday a defamation and privacy lawsuit filed by Sara Netanyahu against Sylvie Gansia, a former cleaning worker at the Prime Minister's Residence, ordering Netanyahu to pay 10,000 shekels in legal costs. Following more than six years of legal proceedings, Judge Ronen Ilan ruled that while Gansia's public statements constituted defamation, the defenses of truth and good faith applied.

Gansia worked as a cleaner at the official residence from June to November 2019. Following her departure, she gave several media interviews describing harsh treatment, verbal abuse, and demanding working conditions during her brief employment. In response, Netanyahu filed a 200,000-shekel defamation lawsuit, claiming the allegations were false and designed to humiliate her.

In his ruling, Judge Ilan favored Gansia's testimony, noting that a controversial apology letter she had signed in October 2019 actually undermined the plaintiff's case by illustrating the pressure under which the worker operated. The court also rejected claims of privacy violations and breach of confidentiality, establishing that the worker had a legitimate right to defend her reputation after being publicly labeled a liar.

While dismissing the lawsuit and awarding costs to the former cleaner, the judge criticized certain offensive expressions used by Gansia's legal team during the trial, which influenced the relatively modest amount of legal expenses awarded.