The tax payer spent some NIS 31.5 million ($8.5 million) on Shin Bet protection for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife and two sons between 2018 and 2023, according to newly published information.
The details were released following a freedom of information request from a civil society organization, Hatzlaha: The Movement for the Promotion of a Fair Society.
According to the data, the Shin Bet spent NIS 11 million guarding Avner Netanyahu, NIS 10 million on Yair Netanyahu and 10.5 million protecting Netanyahu’s wife Sara.
The information also shows that during the year-long Bennett-Lapid government, it cost NIS 3 million to protect Bennett’s children and NIS 4 million to safeguard his wife Gilat.
Netanyahu has come under criticism for insisting that his adult children continue to receive Shin Bet protection. His son Yair has also continued to receive protection since moving to Miami in the US last year.
According to the data, the Shin Bet spent over NIS 1 million protecting Yair last year.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this