The Prime Minister's Office also paid for the water expenses in the Prime Minister's private residence in Caesarea in 2014, according to a list of the Prime Minister's Office's agreements with suppliers for the first half of the 2014. The report, disclosed at the request of the Movement for Freedom of Information, shows that the Prime Minister's Office paid the Caesarea Development Company NIS 29,500 in the first half of the 2014 alone for the water expenses of the Prime Minister's private residence.
The Prime Minister's Office spent exactly the same amount on the Prime Minister's personal appearance. A "Globes" query revealed that these expenses were for clothing and hair styling. The Prime Minister's Office continued to pay for a large proportion of the expenses for Netanyahu's official residence on Balfour St. in Jerusalem in 2014, including NIS 5,500 for a carpet and NIS 10,000 for flower arrangements in the first half of that year. The state paid NIS 15,000 for the Prime Minister's two houses, and the cleaning expenses for the house on Balfour St. totaled NIS 356,000.
At the same time, the Prime Minister's Office paid NIS 53,307 in maintenance expenses, NIS 2,880 for hydrogen gas, and NIS 2,950 for electrical work and lighting for the Balfour St. residence. The state paid NIS 1,298 for pesticides, NIS 708 for a new intercom for the house to replace the broken one, NIS 8,825 for a radiator, and NIS 1,168 for an espresso coffee machine.
Cooking utensils at the official residence cost the taxpayer NIS 13,000. Water expenses there amounted to NIS 49,160 and beverages cost NIS 9,000. Taxpayers footed the bill for NIS 60,000 in landscaping in the first half of 2014, and payments for small-scale renovations at the beginning of 2014, including painting one of the rooms, came to NIS 9,959.
The state spent NIS 19,520 on food for the Prime Minister's official residence, NIS 3,000 on disposable cutlery, NIS 3,492 on an awning for the house entrance, and NIS 26,000 for "communications costs." Municipal property tax on the house came to NIS 38,000 for the first six months of 2014.
The Prime Minister's Office bought a leather travel bag for NIS 369 and an inflatable mattress for "regular use" for NIS 322.
Curtains, furniture, and an air-conditioner for a Pilates course
The Prime Minister's Office splurged on curtains last year. Director general Harel Locker's office spent NIS 5,638 on this item, in addition to over NIS 51,000 paid by the Prime Minister's Office for curtains in the first half of 2014. Netanyahu also spent NIS 2,784 on new curtains for his office.
NIS 17,764 was spent on furniture for the meeting room. 45 chairs were purchased for the cabinet room at a cost of NIS 50,000. NIS 998 was spent on air-conditioner for a "Pilates course to be started in the office," NIS 4,985 on "ordering wine for the Prime Minister's meetings," and 15 new doors were installed at a cost of NIS 50,000. Replacing the doors in Netanyahu's office cost another NIS 36,745. 400 skullcaps were purchased for the Prime Minister's flights, for which the Prime Minister's Office paid NIS 1,793.
A NIS 1.5 million junket to Japan
The reports gives a glance into the costs of the Prime Minister's flights. The Prime Minister's plane that took him to the Economic Forum in Davos in January 2014 cost NIS 1.4 million, plus over NIS 70,000 in security expenses. The Prime Minister's flight to Japan in May 2014 cost the taxpayer NIS 4.5 million, plus NIS 12,000 in costs for security personnel. His March 2014 flight to the US came to NIS 6 million for the plane, not including security costs. That same month, Netanyahu also flew to Eilat at a cost of NIS 48,000 in an airplane that also carried journalists.
The report also includes the flight expense of former Minister for Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz. The flight by him and his entourage cost NIS 68,000, a delegation to Brussels headed by Steinitz cost NIS 18,242, and trips by the minister and his associates to the US, Italy, and the Hague cost NIS 63,000, NIS 18,000, and NIS 25,271, respectively.
The report also mentions NIS 79,541 for "a ministerial delegation to Washington in December 2013," but whom this refers to is unclear.
Movement for Freedom of Information director Alon Winograd said in response, "In the framework of the general request made by the Movement for Freedom of Information to government ministries and other agencies, we obtained figure from the Prime Minister's Office only for the first half of 2014. It is clear that publishing an exact picture of the Prime Minister's Office is a difficult request. At the same time, it should be kept in mind that almost all of the agencies to which the Movement made requests answered fully and in detail. Furthermore, the Prime Minister's Office should be expected to set an example of the best implementation of the public's right to know, and not to make a narrow interpretation of the legal requirement, as unfortunately happens all too often."
The Prime Minister's Office said in response," The attempt to attribute to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu all the agreements published in the report is erroneous and misleading. The report lists not only the Prime Minister's Office's expenses, but also joint agreements pertaining also to a number of related units and other government agencies, such as the Civil Service Commission, the Ministry for Senior Citizens, the Disengagement Authority (Tnufa), the Conversion Authority, and others. Furthermore, the amounts also include spending by the Ministry for Strategic Affairs, the Ministry of Intelligence, the National Security Council, the National Cyber Bureau, the Biometric Database Authority head, the State Archives, and the Authority for Advancement of the Status of Women."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 31, 2015
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