Yair Golan, leader of Israel's Democrats party and a reserve major general, sent a legal warning letter Tuesday to Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following remarks she made during a Channel 14 television interview.
Golan is demanding she publish a retraction and apology within 24 hours and arrange compensation to be donated to survivors of the Nova music festival massacre. If his demands are not met, he warns he will file a lawsuit seeking at least 2.5 million shekels (approximately $700,000).
According to the letter, during the interview Netanyahu was shown footage of Golan participating in a demonstration against the government's judicial overhaul. She then stated: "When you're a military man of such high rank, claiming you were fighting on the sixth, on October seventh, you were already there early in the morning, already dressed and ready. At a very, very early hour, when others didn't know, such as the Prime Minister."
Golan's attorneys argue the statement implies he had advance knowledge of the planned massacre and arrived on scene before the Prime Minister even knew war had broken out. They also contend her use of the phrase "claiming you were fighting" casts doubt on whether Golan actually participated in combat on October 7.
The letter presents Golan's account of that morning's events. According to his version, once the scale of the disaster became clear, he left his home in his private car heading toward the Home Front Command headquarters, writing en route to the command's chief: "Say where and I'll report — the envelope, the south, or command headquarters."
Upon reaching headquarters, he says, he put on uniform, collected equipment and an assault rifle, and drove toward the Gaza border communities. He subsequently received locations of young people who had fled the Nova festival, entered the area multiple times, and rescued six young people. The letter notes some rescue operations were conducted alone, others with Oz Davidian, and another with a team from the Yahalom combat engineering unit.
Golan demands Netanyahu publish a clear correction and apology retracting her statements and clarifying that what she said about him was "false nonsense without foundation." Additionally, he demands she arrange financial compensation to be transferred as a donation to Nova survivors. The warning letter concludes that if Netanyahu does not act as required, Golan will initiate legal proceedings against her and sue for his full damages, in an amount no less than two and a half million shekels.
