Court grants restraining order against activist who harassed PM’s son

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court approves a restraining order sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s younger son Avner, against self-described anti-corruption activist Barak Cohen.

The restraining order will be in effect for six months.

Last month, Cohen uploaded a social media video showing him approaching the 24-year-old Netanyahu, and swearing at him. The premier’s son was eating at a restaurant in Tel Aviv.

“We ran into Avner Netanyahu, the son of the weak, corrupt [man],” he shouts in the two-minute clip, before getting closer. “A family of thieves, your dad is a corrupt thief, you should go away. What about daddy’s thefts? How much did he steal in the end? How much was the bribery he received?” a reference to three corruption cases in which charges have been announced against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pending a hearing. One of the cases involves bribery charges.

Cohen, a left-wing lawyer who was suspended by the Israeli bar association in 2017 for harassing banking executives, then spoke about the premier’s older son, Yair, who has been reported in the past to have visited strip clubs, and who last week celebrated his 28th birthday.

“Were you at the party of your brother, the client of prostitutes? You and he get a driver, a security guard, what else do you get from the state? How much do you get?”