Democrats party chairman Yair Golan sent a pre-litigation warning letter Tuesday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, over alleged defamation.
The legal move follows an interview Netanyahu gave to Channel 14 in which she addressed Golan’s actions on October 7.
Through attorneys Giora Erdinast, Almog Gil-Or and Yarden Shochat of the EBN law firm, Golan issued an unequivocal demand that Netanyahu publish a public apology within 24 hours and pay financial compensation that would be donated in full to survivors of the Nova music festival. If the demand is not met, a defamation lawsuit seeking at least NIS 2.5 million will be filed against her.
The attorneys stressed in their letter that the prime minister’s wife had made “false and defamatory statements" intended to portray Golan as “an accomplice to an act of treason," as part of a planned effort to damage his reputation against the backdrop of the election campaign.
Golan’s attorneys added: “Our client will not lend a hand to an attempt to erase the heroism of IDF soldiers, members of community security squads, civilians and volunteers by rewriting history."
Golan himself said: “They are trying to rewrite October 7 in order to erase Netanyahu’s responsibility for the greatest failure in the history of the country. To do that, they are trying to turn those who rose to defend the country into traitors, and those who funded Hamas and abandoned Israel’s security into victims. This is not merely an attack on me - it is an attack on an entire public of fighters, volunteers and civilians who stepped forward when the Netanyahu government collapsed. We will establish a state commission of inquiry, get to the bottom of the truth and identify those responsible for the failure."
In remarks on Monday, Sara Netanyahu implied that Democrats chairman Yair Golan had known about the Hamas attack in advance: “You claim that you were a fighter on October 7. You were already there early in the morning, already dressed and ready. At a very early hour, when others didn’t know - such as the prime minister."
“After all, who is the prime minister that he needs to know a war is breaking out? Why inform him?" Netanyahu said sarcastically after discussing Golan.
She was subsequently asked what she thought about the “treason theory" and replied, while expressing opposition to a state commission of inquiry: “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know. There should be a real investigative commission."