Published : 06 Sep 2026, 07:52 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:48 AM
Ruth Bar, the woman at the centre of a 1993 scandal involving Benjamin Netanyahu, has spoken about the affair that briefly threatened to derail the Israeli politician's early rise within the Likud party.
On Jan 14, 1993, Netanyahu appeared live on Israel's Channel 1 and publicly admitted to an extramarital affair with Bar, who was working as his strategic advisor during his campaign for the Likud leadership, WION reports.
At the time, the party was choosing a successor to Yitzhak Shamir after Likud's defeat to Yitzhak Rabin in the 1992 election, with Netanyahu's main rival in the leadership contest being David Levy, the Indian news outlet said.
Netanyahu had returned to Israel from the United Nations only a few years earlier and joined Likud, where his political style and rapid rise unsettled established figures in the party.
Among those who viewed him as a threat were the "Likud princes", including Bennie Begin, Ehud Olmert, Dan Meridor, Roni Milo and Limor Livnat, the report said.
A Threat to Netanyahu's Rise
As Netanyahu gained momentum in the leadership race, his personal life suddenly became part of the political drama.
Someone called his family home and told his wife, Sara, that Netanyahu was having an affair with his strategic advisor.
The caller allegedly threatened to make a tape containing evidence of the relationship public unless Netanyahu withdrew from the race.
Netanyahu chose not to step aside. Instead, he decided to address the allegations himself, WION said.
He arrived at the Channel 1 studio, where news anchor Ya'acov Ahimeir and police affairs reporter Uri Cohen-Aharonov were waiting, and admitted on live television that he had cheated on his wife.
Netanyahu also accused a "senior Likud politician", referring to David Levy, of attempting to blackmail him, and further claimed he was surrounded by what he described as a "gang of criminals", the outlet said.
The Tape That Never Surfaced
The confession triggered an immediate uproar across Israel, which had only one television channel at the time.
The alleged tape, however, was never released.
According to WION, there was no tape in the first place, and the threat may have been a prank or an attempt to intimidate Netanyahu, but it was enough to push him into making a highly unusual live television confession.
The episode became one of the most dramatic moments of Netanyahu's early political career.
Despite the scandal, he went on to win the Likud leadership contest and eventually became one of Israel's most prominent political figures.
Who is Ruth Bar?
Bar's name was published at the time, but she largely disappeared from public view after the scandal.
At a time when social media and digital news were still years away, Bar returned to private life and carried on working as a psychologist and strategic consultant.
She later worked with senior Israeli political figures, including Shlomo Lahat, Zvi Bar, Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert, Dan Meridor and Gabi Ashkenazi, according to WION.
Her professional clients also included major Israeli companies and brands such as Osem-Nestlé, Tivall, Sabra, Strauss, Jafora, Materna, Tara, Nirlat and Electra, the report said.
In the financial sector, she worked with institutions including Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Clal, Psagot and Gazit Globe, as well as Israel's tourism ministry, WION reported.
