The lawsuit was filed in 2020 over two publications Gnessia posted in December 2019 and May 2020, which Netanyahu claimed constituted defamation. Gnessia, who had worked at the official residence, failed to submit her closing arguments by the scheduled deadlines and did not request an extension or provide any explanation for the failure.
This past May, Mrs. Netanyahu testified at the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court as part of a NIS 650,000 lawsuit filed against her by Gnessia. The former residence worker sued Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's Office, and the cleaning company Moriah that employed her, alleging workplace harassment, damage to her reputation, and other claims.
According to the lawsuit, Netanyahu's alleged harassment of Gnessia included demanding she change her clothes multiple times throughout the workday, imposing fines and punishments, and yelling. Netanyahu came to the hearing accompanied by Dudi Sharan, former chief of staff to the Prime Minister, as well as Netanyahu family spokesman Ofer Golan and Likud spokesman Guy Levi.
Netanyahu claimed she barely encountered Gnessia, referring to her as "that woman." She testified: "I went to work in the morning and to the other public activities I do, and when I returned the floor was empty. I barely ran into her."
Netanyahu accused Gnessia of being "a plant," pointing to messages Gnessia had sent to her supervisors complaining about her behavior. "What cleaning worker conducts endless correspondence and saves it all? All the documentation here contains text messages from a domestic worker. I've never seen anything like it in the world, it was done deliberately to build a case, make money and get publicity."
