PM’s ex-spokesman Feldstein acted under Urich’s orders, says lawyer

The defense lawyer for Eli Feldstein, the former spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office who is a key figure in two major investigations, tried to prove in court that his client acted under the orders of the premier’s key adviser, Jonatan Urich, according to Hebrew media reports.

Oded Savoray on Sunday presented the Tel Aviv District Court with recordings of Urich’s interrogation by police and WhatsApp messages with Feldstein during the hearing, after a request by the defense lawyer to ease his client’s house arrest conditions, outlets reported.

Savoray argued that Feldstein was not criminally responsible for the leak of stolen classified intelligence information to the German tabloid Bild because he believed he was acting on the prime minister’s orders.

In one instance, Felstein made a suggestion to Urich about publishing some information, to which the latter replied in a WhatsApp message presented by Savoray: “He [Netanyahu] asked not to touch it still.”

On the evening of the second Iranian missile attack on Israel on October 1, 2024, Urich also appeared to order Feldstein not to publish anything, in a similar demonstration of the office’s hierarchy presented by the lawyer.

“Don’t quote anyone, the prime minister asks not to touch it,” Urich wrote to Feldstein.

In another example, Savoray presented an instance in which Feldstein wanted to publish a response to the drone attack on Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea in October 2024, to which Urich texted, “He does not want anything.”

Another message chain presented by Savoray dealt with information passed along to Channel 12 reporter Yaron Avraham.

“I passed it to Yaron Avraham,” Feldstein wrote.

“Let there be no issues,” Urich replied.

“You authorized it,” Feldstein replied, to which Urich then wrote: “I authorized it.”

Late last year, Feldstein was charged with transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state, a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison, as well as illicit possession of classified information and obstruction of justice.

Along with Urich, he is also a central figure in the so-called Qatargate scandal, in which they allegedly took money from Doha to boost its image in Israel following the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.

While being interrogated three weeks ago, police accused Urich of “being the ultimate authority” at the Prime Minister’s Office, according to the evidence Savoray presented to the court.

“I was never responsible, and I never employed Feldstein, because he was not under me,” Urich told investigators. After they insisted, Urich replied: “If there were three or four times where Eli turned to me — then that’s on the fringes of the work.”

Police continued to insist that Urich acted as Feldstein’s boss, referencing an instance in which he ordered the spokesperson to prepare questions for a press conference and a list of journalists to contact.

“You instruct him to conduct briefings, to make inquiries, to respond to journalists, or not to respond. I just presented you with several examples from the investigation that you are actually the one managing things,” an investigator said.

“I didn’t manage Eli, and I didn’t push him,” Urich replied.

In another interrogation from February, Urich told investigators that “every message to the media requires” the prime minister’s approval, and said he received “quite a few” items from Feldstein that required Netanyahu’s okay.

“In light of the evidence, the question arises — who approves media matters in the Prime Minister’s Office? Is it Feldstein himself or Urich on the Prime Minister’s orders?” Savoray told the court on Sunday, according to Channel 13 news.

“In other words — did the applicant conduct direct communication with the prime minister or did Urich accompany the media matters with the prime minister on Feldstein’s behalf,” he said.

In response to the evidence revealed at the hearing, Urich’s attorneys said in a statement carried by the Ynet news site: “Eli Feldstein made it clear time and time against in his initial interrogations that Jonatan Urich and the prime minister had nothing to do with his actions, and he was event tested on a polygraph by the Shin Bet and came out as a truthful person.”

“Let each person think for themselves what caused him to make a 180-degree turn on his version,” they added.

Feldstein was arrested in late 2024 on suspicion of leaking stolen classified intelligence to the German tabloid Bild, which presented the document as evidence that Hamas was not interested in reaching a serious ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel.

It was later revealed in media reports that the publication had seriously distorted the file to serve the interests of the Netanyahu government.