PM fires spokesman on eve of US trip, reportedly amid spats with Sara Netanyahu
Premier’s wife has record of influencing appointments, but sources close to PM maintain Netanyahu fired Omer Dostri because of incompetence; PMO: Dostri to ’embark on a new path’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his spokesperson, Omer Dostri, just before the premier departs for Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump.
Initial reports of Dostri’s firing on Saturday cited unnamed sources close to the prime minister. Dostri’s departure from the role was later confirmed in a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday evening, but the statement said Dostri “informed the prime minister of his intention to end his role and embark on a new path.”
According to Channel 13, Dostri, who had been Netanyahu’s spokesperson for the past year, was leaving his position immediately because of a series of conflicts with the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu.
A source with knowledge of the details also told The Times of Israel that Sara Netanyahu’s attitude toward Dostri played a role in him stepping down.
Her involvement in the appointments of high-ranking officials has been widely reported.
In a statement Sunday, however, Netanyahu’s office denied Sara had anything to do with Dostri’s departure.
“The decision to terminate his employment was made in coordination between the prime minister, his chief of staff, and Dostri,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, adding that “the media is quick to turn Mrs. Netanyahu into its punching bag whenever it can.”
The source told The Times of Israel that Dostri’s likely replacement, Ziv Agmon, is very close to Sara.
However, sources close to Netanyahu told Ynet that Dostri’s firing was not because of Sara, but rather because Netanyahu considered him incompetent.
“This was a bad fit,” the sources said. “He didn’t have experience. He had never been in this profession. He was essentially pushed out. He was told this wasn’t working. Two days ago, he was informed he wouldn’t be traveling to Washington.
“It wasn’t connected to Sara. The prime minister was unsatisfied with him.”
According to Ynet, US-born Agmon is close to Netanyahu’s chief of staff Tzachi Braverman, while Channel 12 noted his close relationship with Sara Netanyahu.
Other sources familiar with the matter told Ynet: “Dostri was unequivocally fired by Netanyahu,” further indicating that his dismissal did not have to do with his relationship with the premier’s wife.
In February, Hebrew media reported that Netanyahu had repeatedly reprimanded Dostri for his conduct.
In October, when Israel struck Iran, Dostri published uncensored photos of Netanyahu at IDF headquarters against military censorship protocols, revealing confidential information to Israeli and international media.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, another point of contention was over negative media coverage that Netanyahu received for being in Washington while hostages were released from Gaza in frail physical condition.
Another issue mentioned by Kan was a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office in February, during the last ceasefire, which said that Israel found a list of hostages set for release by Hamas to be “acceptable.” The PMO issued a correction, calling the initial statement “an unfortunate writing mistake.”
“Instead of the writing ‘this list is acceptable to Israel,’ it should have read ‘this list was received by Israel,’” the correction stated. The two words — “acceptable” and “received” — have the same three-letter root in Hebrew.
“This is a purely factual description that does not reflect any reference by Israel to the issue,” the correction continued.
In its statement confirming Dostri’s departure from the role, the PMO praised his work “during one of the most turbulent and complex years… amid a multi-front war,” saying Netanyahu thanked Dostri “for his principled, dedicated, and professional work… in one of the most challenging and complex periods Israel has ever known.”
According to the PMO, Dostri said he “had the opportunity to see up close how the prime minister makes fateful decisions for Israel and the entire Jewish people,” and that he is “confident that Prime Minister Netanyahu will continue to steer Israel safely toward a bright future.”
Before becoming Netanyahu’s spokesman, Dostri, who holds a doctorate in international relations, worked as a researcher for two right-wing think tanks: the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, and Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (“Habithonistim”). He also wrote columns in Israeli media.
The Times of Israel Community.