Brothers in Arms Urges Criminal Probe into Deputy Minister Almog Cohen for Repeated Breach of Publication Bans

The organization Brothers in Arms submitted an urgent letter on Thursday to the State Attorney Gali Baharav-Miara and the Knesset Attorney Shagit Afik, demanding a criminal investigation into Deputy Minister Almog Cohen. The group accuses Cohen of repeatedly violating court-issued publication bans by publicly revealing confidential information and making false accusations against a senior reserve officer from the Knesset podium. The letter, filed through attorney Amit Mor of the Nesitz Brands Amir & Co. law firm, highlights that Cohen breached a publication ban issued just one day prior during a Knesset plenary session last week. Cohen disclosed the full name and rank of the officer, whom he linked to the controversial case of reserve officer Asaf Shmuelovitz, indicted in late 2023 for serious security offenses.

Brothers in Arms alleges Cohen’s actions may constitute multiple serious criminal offenses, including revealing classified information, incitement to violence, obstruction of justice, and witness harassment. The letter warns that the Knesset has become a platform for the group’s activists to "spill blood" and cautions that authorities’ silence could lead to actual physical violence. Besides calling for a criminal investigation, the organization demands the removal of the officer’s name from the public Knesset records and urges the Ethics Committee to impose severe sanctions on Cohen.

The senior officer Cohen targeted has no prior connection to Shmuelovitz except for giving him a ride the day after the October 7 massacre. Despite a district court order banning the publication of the name of one of Brothers in Arms’ founders, Cohen disclosed it again from the Knesset podium, intensifying calls for legal accountability.