Yair Golan Sues Sara Netanyahu for Defamation Over Oct. 7 Remarks

Yair Golan, chairman of the Democratic Party, has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking 2.5 million shekels in damages. The legal action stems from comments Netanyahu made during an interview on Channel 14 regarding Golan's actions on the morning of October 7. In the interview, Sara Netanyahu questioned the circumstances under which Golan traveled to southern Israel early that day, noting he was already dressed and ready at a time when, she claimed, other officials, including the Prime Minister, had not yet been fully briefed on the scale of the Hamas attack. Golan and his party interpreted these remarks as an insinuation that he had prior knowledge of the attack. However, Netanyahu later stated in the interview that she did not subscribe to any specific theories and did not know what truly happened.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Golan sent Netanyahu a legal demand for a public apology and compensation for survivors of the Nova music festival. Golan maintains he learned of the attack only when the first sirens sounded at 6:29 a.m., after which he traveled south, armed himself, and assisted in rescuing young people who fled the festival.

Sara Netanyahu rejected Golan's accusations and, in turn, sent him a legal demand. She sought an apology, the retraction of several publications, and 100,000 shekels for the pre-military academy Yeshivat Ali, threatening a 1 million shekel lawsuit if her demands were not met.