Democrats faction head Yair Golan filed a NIS 2.55 million lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu on Thursday, accusing the prime minister’s wife of defaming him and endangering his life by implying that he knew in advance about the October 7 Hamas attack.
The suit, filed in the Central District Court in Lod, asks the court to order Netanyahu to pay damages and publish a correction and clarification.
The dispute stems from an August 31 interview with Channel 14, in which Netanyahu questioned how Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, reached southern Israel on the morning of the attack.
“When you are a military officer of such a high rank and claim that you fought on October 7, you were already there early in the morning, already dressed and prepared,” she said. “At a very, very early hour, when others did not know, such as the prime minister.”
Golan argues that an ordinary viewer would understand those remarks as suggesting that he knew the attack was coming before it began, failed to warn anyone, and may even have been involved in a betrayal of the country.
Court will have to decide how a reasonable viewer would understand comments
The lawsuit also argues that Netanyahu cast doubt on Golan’s documented rescue efforts by saying that he “claims” to have fought that day.
Netanyahu has rejected that interpretation. Responding to a warning letter sent by Golan on September 1, she said her remarks had been distorted and were directed sarcastically at those who, she argued, failed to alert the prime minister promptly after the attack began.
Later in the interview, when asked about theories alleging betrayal on October 7, Netanyahu said she was “not part of any theories.” Likud said following Golan’s warning that she had not alleged a conspiracy and had, in fact, said the opposite. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that “there was no betrayal on October 7; there was a failure.”
The court will ultimately have to decide how a reasonable viewer would have understood the interview as a whole, not merely how either side now describes it.
Golan’s actions on October 7 have been widely documented. After the attack began, he left his home, collected military equipment and drove south. Oz Davidian, who took part in rescue operations alongside him, has said Golan arrived in the Nova music festival area at around 11:30 a.m. Golan helped rescue six people who had fled the festival, according to the lawsuit and previous reporting.
The lawsuit says the interview was followed by concrete threats against Golan, including threatening letters and warnings relayed by intelligence officials. It says he consequently expanded his private security arrangements, adding substantial costs as he campaigns ahead of the October 27 election.
Alongside the defamation claim, Golan is attempting a less conventional civil argument. He claims Netanyahu’s remarks violated a legal provision barring publications that create a real possibility of encouraging violence, and that the alleged violation therefore entitles him to damages under civil law.
That does not amount to a criminal charge or prosecution; Golan is asking a civil court to find that the alleged incitement breached a legal duty intended to protect people from violence.
Golan seeks double compensation
Golan is also seeking double compensation without proof of specific financial damage for what he describes as multiple intentional publications, up to the total NIS 2.55m. claimed.
To support his allegation that the remarks were aired deliberately, the complaint says the interview was prerecorded and that Prime Minister’s Office and Likud adviser Topaz Luk acknowledged viewing it before broadcast. Golan argues that Netanyahu or those accompanying her therefore had an opportunity to remove the passage.
The lawsuit comes seven weeks before the election, in which Golan is leading the Democrats against Netanyahu’s Likud. Golan alleges that the timing was intended to damage him politically.
Two other men, Amir Sade and Eyal Giler, have both sent Netanyahu pre-suit warning letters over separate remarks she made about protest-related criminal cases during the interview.
“We are putting an end to this,” Golan said after filing the case, accusing the Netanyahu family of branding political opponents as traitors to escape responsibility for October 7.
Netanyahu will now have an opportunity to file a defense.