Yair Golan files lawsuit against designer over images portraying him as Hamas terrorist

The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan is filing a NIS 300,000 defamation lawsuit against designer Or Reichert, who he accuses of publishing images portraying him as a Hamas terrorist.

The lawsuit, submitted to the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, describes “a series of graphic designs presenting Golan wearing a keffiyeh, as a Hamas terrorist, and as someone assisting the organization.”

“We are determined to dismantle the poison machine and will continue to fight it with full force,” says Golan in a statement.

The left-wing Democrats party also highlights Reichert’s past work for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, alleging he was paid tens of thousands of shekels for video production.

“Those who poison the public discourse must know they will be held accountable,” the statement adds.

This is the latest in a series of legal steps Golan has taken against what he calls a systematic campaign of slander from the political right-wing. In January, he announced lawsuits against Likud MK Tally Gotliv and Otzma Yehudit’s Almog Cohen “for spreading conspiracies and lies across the internet and from the Knesset plenum rostrum,” adding that Gotliv has previously received a warning letter from an attorney demanding NIS 250,000 ($68,000) in damages and a public apology.

Both Gotliv and Cohen have spread baseless internet conspiracy theories about Golan, claiming that he was involved in espionage against Israel following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

A former IDF Northern Front and Home Front commander, Golan made headlines and received accolades in 2023 when he headed to the front lines of the October 7 onslaught of his own initiative and rescued many partygoers fleeing the Hamas-led massacre at the Nova rave.