Democrats party threatens Likud with legal action over ‘false and fabricated’ Netanyahu campaign video

By Stav Levaton

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

27 September 2026, 4:58 pm

Edit

Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel

Left to right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset museum, in Jerusalem on August 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); The Democrats party leader Yair Golan attends a rally outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on August 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Democrats Party threatens legal action against Likud over a campaign video posted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu targeting party chairman Yair Golan and the opposition bloc, accusing the ruling party of misleading voters by falsely presenting Golan’s remarks to a radio station earlier today as though they were made during a meeting of opposition leaders.

In a warning letter sent to Likud, the Democrats demand that the video be removed from all platforms by 7 p.m. tonight, saying that otherwise they will pursue “all legal measures available.”

The video features a recording of Golan saying that the Arab-led Ra’am party, which has Islamist roots, could be part of the next government, and presents the remarks as though they were made during last night’s meeting between the leaders of the opposition bloc.

The recording was actually taken from an interview Golan gave to Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet this morning. Shortly after the interview, the Democrats issued a clarification stressing that Golan was only expressing the party’s position and that the possibility of including an Arab party in the next coalition “did not come up” during last night’s meeting.

The party’s legal counsel, Omri Segev, calls the video a “false and fabricated representation,” arguing that it could “mislead the reasonable voter, who may believe that the audio recording of the Democrats Party chairman was made with the agreement or acquiescence of the other participants at that meeting.”

Last night’s meeting at Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s home was also attended by Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad chairman Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman. The leaders agreed to coordinate their campaigns and pledged not to attack one another ahead of the October 27 election.

The Democrats’ letter alleges that Netanyahu’s video violates the Elections Law (Propaganda Methods) of 1959, which prohibits parties from unfairly interfering with another party’s election campaigning.