Yair Netanyahu sues activist over claim he struck PM

Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has filed a 500,000-shekel defamation suit against protest activist Ami Dror, according to a report published Tuesday. The suit addresses nearly 30 posts by Dror that, Netanyahu alleges, contain false accusations, slurs and damage to his reputation.

One of the central claims concerns posts alleging that Yair Netanyahu acted violently toward his father, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and even slapped him. Other posts claimed that the younger Netanyahu left Israel to evade a criminal investigation.

Netanyahu denies the claims categorically. The lawsuit states that "this is a false attribution with no factual basis whatsoever, originating from a baseless rumour that had no grounding in reality."

Dror also published material concerning Netanyahu's conduct toward hostage families and IDF soldiers.

In one post, Dror claimed that "the hostage families angered him and he cursed them regularly," adding that the soldiers guarding Netanyahu in Miami "heard him cursing the IDF constantly."

Anti-government protest (Photo: Yehuda Gal)

In response to these claims, Netanyahu clarified in his lawsuit that "the hostage families never 'angered' him and he never cursed the IDF."

Another section of the suit addresses the labels Dror applied to Netanyahu and his family. Among other things, he called the family "the Israeli Ceaușescu family," a reference to the former Romanian dictator.

According to Netanyahu, the label was intended to create the impression that his family operates in a corrupt and coercive manner, exploiting its influence over state institutions and public figures.

Dror also called the younger Netanyahu "the head of the snake," "the psycho," "racist," "deranged" and "disturbed," and claimed he works to protect "dark businesses" and "secret funds" belonging to the family.

In addition, Dror called Netanyahu "the operator" of the poison machine. In his lawsuit, Netanyahu denies that he operates an organised apparatus for spreading messages or engaging in improper activity, and argues that the posts attribute to him the operation of illegitimate influence mechanisms.

The lawsuit, filed through attorney Chor Uriel Nizri, claims that "this is an ongoing and systematic campaign of defamation and humiliation, which has caused real damage to his good name, his honor and his public standing."