Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife attended a Friday night dinner hosted by a close benefactor and past campaign donor, billionaire Simon Falic, in New York City, hours after an Israeli airstrike took out Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a report said Sunday.
While Netanyahu’s office announced he would return to Israel early from his trip to the UN General Assembly due to the development, he did not depart until after the meal — some 10 hours after the airstrike — and landed in Israel around 24 hours after the operation.
Attendees of the Shabbat dinner posted images of the event on social media, then removed them overnight, according to a report by the Haaretz daily.
Falic, known for owning the Duty Free Americas chain of stores and a close friend of the Netanyahus, sat next to the prime minister and his wife Sara. Falic, along with his daughter Tila and Tila’s husband Gabe Groisman, the former mayor of Bal Harbour Florida, attended the meal at a New York hotel.
Also at the event was America’s polarizing celebrity, Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who labeled Netanyahu “the greatest leader Israel has ever produced,” in a post on Instagram.
“Given the successful attack on Hezbollah headquarters earlier in the day, it was obviously a historic night. We did not know at the time whether or not monster terrorist Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, was still alive or roasting in hell. We would only find out hours later,” Boteach wrote.
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu attended the meal without the entourage that accompanied him to the United Nations, which included journalists and the relatives of hostages held in Gaza.
In April, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel criticized Netanyahu for staying at the Jerusalem home of Falic, claiming that his presence there may have constituted the receipt of a prohibited gift.
Netanyahu is on trial on charges that include receiving illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors in exchange for granting them regulatory benefits, though Falic is not linked to that case.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.