Bibi's dirty laundry

I'm a graduate of the Sloan School of Management at MIT. A lesser graduate, to be sure, but a graduate nonetheless. Our most famous alum is probably Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel. 

It's probably no surprise to anyone when I say that, despite having some business school rah-rah in common, I'm not a big fan of Bibi's. Way too righty for me!

While I haven't followed his political care all that closely, I am aware that there's an aura of personal corruption around him - including hiding/disguising items so that they can be covered as expenses, and receiving $200K worth of cigars and champagne in exchange for whatever. Which seems like an awful lot of cigars and champagne, but I guess when you're Bibi, nothing but the best. Anyway, in general, he's regarded as something of a grifter. (In that, Bibi has something in common with his bestie in the Oval Office.)

But I wasn't aware that his grift extended to bringing "bags and suitcases full of dirty laundry" when he's making official visits to the US, toting it along with the expectation that his hosts will take care of it for him.

The clothes are cleaned for the prime minister free of charge by the U.S. staff, a perk that is available to all foreign leaders but sparingly taken advantage of given the short stays of busy heads of state.

“The Netanyahus are the only ones who bring actual suitcases of dirty laundry for us to clean,” said one U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the details of a foreign leader’s visits. “After multiple trips, it became clear this was intentional." (Source: WaPo)

These allegations are being denied by Israeli officialdom, who are labeling the charges "absurd." Well, they are absurd. And the U.S. Embassy has stated that, at least for this most recent trip, Bibi's laundry needs were minimal. A couple of shirts laundered. Bibi's suit, his wife's dress ironed. And,

"Oh yes, a pair of pajamas that the Prime Minister wore on the 12 hour flight from Israel to Washington was also laundered,” the embassy statement said.

Hmmm.  He probably wasn't wearing those PJ's for 12 hours, but for a normal night's sleep of 7-8 hours - and those 7-8 hours weren't spent sitting slightly reclined in the economy cabin with a flimsy pillow and staticky blanket. So were they getting any more wrinkled and uggy than they would in a regular bed? Probably not. And how many of us - other than the very nice but OCD woman upstairs who washes her flannel Lanz pajamas daily - wash their PJ's after one wearing? No one I know. 

Anyway, other officials have confirmed that, for years, Bibi's been channeling his inner college student bringing home duffels full o' laundry for mom by bringing suitcases full of dirty laundry along with him when he comes to call. 

And not just when he comes to call in the US. Mr. and Mrs. Netanyahu reportedly:

...took 11 suitcases on a one-day trip to Portugal in December. Netanyahu’s office denied speculation that the suitcases were filled with dirty laundry, saying they included items he needed for his office work.

What kind of dirty work, I mean office work, takes up 11 suitcases for a one-day trip? 

But why pack light if you don't need to pay for checked baggage - and if your hosts are willing to play laundromat for you?

Pretty grifty behavior, that's for sure. And nothing that they taught us at Sloan. At least not in any of the courses I took!