The confrontation between Sara Netanyahu and Democrats chairman Yair Golan is escalating: Netanyahu’s attorney, Hur Uriel Nizri, sent Golan a response and warning letter on Tuesday following his demand that Netanyahu compensate him and apologize for remarks she made about him on Channel 14.
First, the attorney states that “the distortion of her remarks as though my client acted to spread conspiracy theories is inconsistent with what was actually said."
According to him, the remarks were made sarcastically in reference to officials who failed to update the prime minister in time about what was happening. He accuses Golan and his party of having “chosen to exploit my client’s remarks cynically and disgracefully and present them falsely and in a distorted manner as though they constituted conspiracy theories."
Attorney Nizri goes on to reject Golan’s demand, arguing that it is actually Golan’s statements over the years about Netanyahu and her family that, in his view, provide grounds for a defamation lawsuit against him.
Among other things, the letter refers to remarks attributed to Golan in an interview in which he attacked Netanyahu and members of her family. According to Netanyahu’s attorney, these were “serious" statements that went beyond legitimate political criticism.
The letter further claims that Golan has spoken harshly against Netanyahu and her family over the years, and that the remarks attributed to him constitute, according to her attorney, defamation and damage to her reputation.
Nizri is demanding that Golan issue a public apology and donate NIS 100,000 to the Eli pre-military academy. The letter also makes clear that legal proceedings against him are being considered if the demands are not met.
The letter comes in the wake of the controversy sparked by Sara Netanyahu’s remarks on Channel 14 concerning Golan’s early arrival at the scene on the morning of October 7. Following those remarks, Golan sent the prime minister’s wife a pre-litigation warning letter.
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.
Golan’s 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 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."