Netanyahu’s former adviser breaks silence on affair that shook his early career

Dr Ruth Bar, the woman at the center of Benjamin Netanyahu’s high-profile 1993 affair scandal, has broken more than three decades of silence, revealing new details about her relationship with the Israeli prime minister and his early political ambitions.

Bar, who worked as Netanyahu’s strategic and public relations adviser, spoke to Maariv journalist Ben Caspit as she prepares to publish a new book on behavioral psychology and decision-making.

Her relationship with Netanyahu became public in January 1993, when he appeared on live television and acknowledged having an extramarital affair with Bar after saying he had been threatened with the release of a videotape allegedly showing the two together.

Bar largely withdrew from the public spotlight following the scandal. More than 30 years later, she has returned to discuss the relationship and the political environment surrounding Netanyahu’s rise.

Bar recalls Netanyahu’s early ambitions

Bar described Netanyahu as a politician who, from an early stage, was convinced he was destined for national leadership.

She said her first impression of Netanyahu, which remained unchanged during the three years she worked with him, was an “extreme, almost frightening sense of superiority.”

According to Bar, Netanyahu appeared convinced long before becoming prime minister that he was destined to lead the country and considered himself intellectually and politically superior to those around him.

She recalled that former members of his staff would later refer to him as an “emperor,” but said she had already observed what she considered a similar attitude during the early 1990s.

Bar said this sense of superiority was also reflected in Netanyahu’s descriptions of other public figures. She recalled him referring to senior military commanders, Israel Defense Forces chiefs of staff, journalists and government officials as “clerks,” or pkeidim, in what she characterized as a dismissive tone.

She also said Netanyahu tended to describe political rivals as “small, pathetic and insignificant,” rather than viewing them as legitimate competitors.

Bar says Netanyahu saw himself as superior to US presidents

Bar told Caspit that Netanyahu’s perceived sense of superiority extended beyond Israeli politics.

According to her account, he believed he was intellectually and strategically superior even to US presidents.

At the same time, Bar said Netanyahu was adept at concealing that attitude from the public. She described a contrast between his private demeanor, where he could be openly dismissive of people around him, and his public persona, which she characterized as polished and charismatic.

She also recalled an incident that, in her view, illustrated Netanyahu’s sensitivity to public recognition.

Bar said Netanyahu once arrived at a campaign meeting in a dark and irritable mood, but his demeanor changed almost immediately after he opened a newspaper and saw a large photograph of himself.

The image appeared to lift his mood, she recalled, suggesting to her how strongly public visibility and recognition affected him.

Following her association with Netanyahu, Bar went on to build a career in behavioral psychology, strategic consulting and branding.

Her later clients included former Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, former senior Likud politician Dan Meridor and major corporate institutions, including Bank Hapoalim.

Her decision to speak publicly again coincides with the publication of her 600-page book, Brain Under the Influence (Moah Tahat Hashpa'ah), which examines behavioral psychology, decision-making and the factors that influence human behavior.

Bar’s interview with Caspit brings one of the most controversial episodes of Netanyahu’s early political career back into public discussion more than three decades after his televised confession.