Luxurious Beauty Salon Amid National Crisis, 'National Disgrace' First Lady... Israeli Crowd's Anger

Surrounded by Angry Crowd After Visiting Hair Salon
"The Country Is Burning, Yet You Only Think About Your Hair"
Previously Controversial for Alleged Embezzlement and Extravagance

The wife of the Israeli Prime Minister was surrounded and isolated by protesters while visiting a luxury hair salon amid ongoing anti-government demonstrations. Although no physical violence occurred, it was reported that she was only able to safely leave after the police intervened.

According to the Associated Press and other sources on the 2nd (local time), Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was trapped last night at a luxury hair salon in northern Tel Aviv.

Mrs. Netanyahu visited the hair salon located in the city center of the area the previous day. The situation escalated when another customer at the same salon took a photo of Mrs. Netanyahu and posted it on social networking services (SNS).

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mrs. Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Prime Minister [Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

At that time, large-scale protests against the government's judicial reform plan were taking place in the city. Protesters claimed that the government was pushing a reform plan to weaken the judiciary. As the size of the protests grew, the government responded with a strong crackdown using stun grenades and other measures. The dissatisfaction among the protesters continued to increase.

In this context, the fact that Mrs. Netanyahu, who had been criticized for her lavish lifestyle, appeared at a luxury hair salon made her a target of the protesters. Rumors spread that Netanyahu, already considered a 'public enemy,' had come to the salon for a hair treatment, and a crowd quickly gathered in front of the salon.

Outside the salon, protesters shouted slogans such as "The country is burning, but Sara is just getting her hair done," and "Aren't you ashamed?" Many protesters also expressed their dissatisfaction by honking car horns. Despite this, the Associated Press reported that there were no violent acts such as attempts to enter the salon.

The border police deployed hundreds of personnel to carry out a rescue operation to extract Mrs. Netanyahu.

As Mrs. Netanyahu got into a limousine under police escort, the protesters jeered.

After his wife's safe return, Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to the protesters as 'anarchists' and criticized them, saying, "The chaos must end. I almost lost my life." Mrs. Sara Netanyahu herself expressed gratitude to the police who rescued her on Instagram the following day, stating, "Someone almost died because of what happened yesterday."

Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife become 'public enemies' over embezzlement of public funds

Police guarding in front of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's hair salon
[Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

Mrs. Netanyahu has faced criticism from the Israeli public multiple times. She became the subject of controversy after it was revealed that she embezzled public funds and made headlines for years over allegations of keeping gifts received from foreign leaders.

Mrs. Netanyahu has a history of attracting harsh criticism in Israel due to various scandals.

As the prime minister's wife, she was found to have embezzled public funds, indulged in luxury at the prime minister's official residence funded by taxpayers, and misappropriated gifts from foreign leaders. There are also suspicions that she may have influenced the prime minister's governance behind the scenes.

In particular, in 2019, she admitted guilt and received a reduced sentence through plea bargaining after spending $100,000 (approximately 130 million KRW) of public funds to hire a famous chef to prepare meals at the prime minister's residence, despite an existing chef already employed there.

Recently, a parliamentary committee allocated an additional annual budget of several thousand dollars for clothing and makeup expenses for the Netanyahu family. An Israeli journalist described the Netanyahu couple as "generally seen as greedy," likening them to "Marie Antoinette."

Meanwhile, Israel is currently facing intense protests against the right-wing government's authoritarian judicial reform plan, and escalating violent clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups have put Prime Minister Netanyahu in a major crisis just over two months after his return to power.