Former PM Office Chief Warns Netanyahu’s Continued Leadership Poses Existential Threat to Israel

Within a week, two testimonies emerged from close circles around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, revealing troubling patterns of behavior within his inner circle. The first came from Yechiel Ohev Ami, a vulnerable employee who described degrading treatment, allegedly including abuse by Netanyahu’s wife, Sara. The second, a recent interview with Yoav Horowitz, former Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office and Chief of Staff, provided an insider’s perspective on Netanyahu’s management style and the state of the government.

Both testimonies offered no new revelations but reinforced the disturbing patterns of control and loyalty demands within Netanyahu’s office. Horowitz recounted efforts to block inappropriate initiatives by the Netanyahu family, such as requiring staff to sign personal loyalty oaths to the Prime Minister and his family. This echoes previous reports of loyalty demands for key appointments, including the Mossad chief candidate who lost the position for refusing to pledge loyalty to the Netanyahu family.

Horowitz highlighted Netanyahu’s narcissistic assertion that “if he is not the head of state, there is nothing here,” reflecting a dangerous conflation of the state with his personal leadership. Horowitz warned that another Netanyahu term would pose an existential threat to Israel, particularly through the ongoing assault on the judicial system. Netanyahu’s targeting of the judiciary appears aimed at undermining legal proceedings against him, including criminal trials and investigations into the submarine affair and the October 7 massacre.

The Likud party dismissed Horowitz’s statements as betrayal linked to his political shift to the left, a common tactic in Netanyahu’s campaign to discredit critics. However, the testimonies underscore widespread concern among security, economic, academic, and medical leaders who supported the recent Knesset elections, emphasizing that Israel’s survival depends on institutions beyond Netanyahu’s personal power.

Horowitz’s warnings and the repeated patterns of loyalty enforcement and abuse within Netanyahu’s circle deepen the national debate about leadership, governance, and the future of Israeli democracy.