From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Israeli musician and vocal Netanyahu critic Efraim Shamir summoned for police questioning
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Israeli musician Efraim Shamir has been summoned for questioning by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit this morning, Hebrew media reports.
Shamir, a longtime critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not given a reason for the summons, the Walla news site reports.
Shamir’s lawyer, Yair Nehorai, says the questioning is scheduled for 11 a.m. and that he will “respond accordingly” once the reason for the summons is made clear.
Shamir tells Ynet that he suspects the reason for the summons “might be because of Facebook posts” that are heavily critical of the prime minister and his government, but “I really don’t know.”
“I’m worried about it, but I know who I am and what I am,” he adds.
Shamir, a member of 70s pop rock group Kaveret, has drawn ire from Netanyahu and his Likud party before, including in 2019 when he lamented that the premier’s wife, Sara, had not died in place of then-president Reuven Rivlin’s wife Nechama.
In a Facebook post reacting to Nechama Rivlin’s death, Shamir had written, “Why not Sara?”
He doubled down amid fierce backlash, calling Likud lawmakers who criticized him “hypocrites” as they had chosen to back “criminal” Netanyahu, who at the time was the focus of a criminal investigation that led to the charges he is currently on trial for.
The Times of Israel Community.