The Democrats party filed an emergency petition to the High Court of Justice (Bagatz) on Tuesday demanding that Shin Bet chief David Zini and the government of Israel provide immediate security protection for party chairman Yair Golan.
The petition comes less than a month before the elections, with Golan remaining without security despite police assessing the threat level against him as high. The petition states that Golan is exposed to dozens of concrete, explicit and chilling murder threats, and that "every day that passes without security leaves the petitioner as cannon fodder".
The petitioners are demanding a temporary order, an interim order and an urgent hearing, in light of the threats and the proximity of the Knesset elections.
The petition, filed through Democrats legal counsel Adv. Omri Segev, reveals that although Israel Police raised the risk level on Golan to level 4 out of 6, identical to that assigned to Gadi Eisenkot, only the Democrats chairman has not been approved for security.
Attached to the petition is a document detailing the threats directed at Golan:
"Yair Golan, interesting what blood he has in his veins... needs to stand trial and after that a bullet in the head".
"You're on the way we'll take out your eyes you and your family will be erased... your sentence is hanging".
"Amen that Yair Golan dies in terrible agony I'm handing out sweets on that day".
"Why don't they eliminate Yair Golan".
"A person like this shouldn't be in politics only a hanging rope".
The petition further notes that in a recent incident in which a brick was thrown at the studios of Channel 12 news with a threatening letter attached, Golan's name was included in the letter as one of the targets for attack, and he was the only party chairman included in it.
"The security of petitioner 1 (Yair Golan) is at the heart of the Service's mission", the petition states. "A candidate who cannot appear in public without risk to his life is limited in running his election campaign, compared to competitors who are not subject to a similar threat. An attack on a candidate because of his political positions, during an election period, is an attack on the election process itself".
The Democrats responded: "We will not sit idly by while the next political assassination is being planned. We demand that the High Court intervene immediately, before it's too late".
